Over several months, the voluntary mediation scheme has been developed to resolve issues arising during a transfer of administration services between providers.
The service will be complimentary to members of PASA or clients of its corporate members. There will be no charges to any scheme wishing to use the service during the initial trial period to January 2019.
Kim Gubler, Deputy Chair at PASA commented:
“Changing administrators gives rise to challenges not just for the ceding and receiving provider, but also for a scheme and its members. Regardless of what may have prompted the transition, both providers have a duty to work in co-operation and manage the situation in a professional manner ensuring the interests of trustees and members remain at the forefront.
"Failure to do so can have significantly negative consequences, which is why PASA first published its Code of Conduct on Administration Provider Transfers. From January 2013, we required that all our members must comply with this code and will continue to update it as circumstances change. We have observed the market and have now updated our Code. We have seen that sometimes providers and trustees can disagree on what should happen and that this can occasionally lead to a breakdown in the relationship.
“Our new dispute resolution service offers an independent view of any issues brought forward to assess whether each party has acted in line with the Code. Expert representatives of PASA forming the Determinations Board will bring all parties together in a positive way to find practical and fair solutions for each issue – enabling the smoother transfer of administration and services overall. The Determinations Board will always be independent of the parties and of any commercial third party administrator, eliminating the risk of any conflict of interest.”
Anthony Raymond, Interim Executive Director of Regulatory Policy at The Pensions Regulator said:
“Good administration is the bedrock of a well run scheme. Any breakdown during the transition between administrators can have a negative impact on members. We are pleased to see the launch of PASA’s transitions dispute resolution service to help ensure that members’ benefits remain protected, and the service they receive from their scheme is uninterrupted. Having administrators who are signed up to PASA’s code of conduct can also help to achieve this, and we encourage them to do so."
