In May 1997, the Management Committee approved service standards for key NILGOSC activities, and set a performance target for each service standard. The service standards are reviewed annually, and performance against the targets is monitored by the Committee. In April 2024, the internal auditor, ASM, tested NILGOSC’s service standards reporting system and performance outturn as part of its annual validations review.
The following is a summary of performance against the service standards during 2023/2024.
| Task | Standard (working days) | Target | Within Standard |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lump-sum retirement payments | 10 days | 90% | 94% |
| Death grant payments | 10 days | 90% | 93% |
| Leaver options notifications | 20 days | 90% | 53% |
| Refund payments | 10 days | 95% | 99% |
| Refund quotations | 10 days | 90% | 73% |
| Transfer out quotations | 20 days | 90% | 94% |
| Transfer out payments | 10 days | 90% | 93% |
| Transfer in quotations | 10 days | 90% | 91% |
| Transfer in confirmations | 20 days | 90% | 95% |
| New entrant certificates | 20 days | 95% | 99% |
| Correspondence | 10 days | 95% | 94% |
| Benefit quotation requests | 10 days | 90% | 86% |
| Issue members’ annual report | by 30 November | 100% | 100% |
| Issue members’ annual benefit statements | Within 5 months of year-end, unless relevant data is unavailable | 100% | 99% |
| Pensions paid each month | Last banking day of month | 100% | 100% |
| P60s issued to all pensioners | By 31 May | 100% | 100% |
The 2023/24 year continued to provide challenges for NILGOSC and this is reflected in performance falling short of service standards in five areas. Service delivery was in line with or exceeded target for the remaining 11 standards (2022/23: 11/16 targets met). Sustained high levels of staff turnover and corresponding recruitment and retention challenges all contributed to failure to meet certain service standards, as did the amending McCloud Regulations which were issued one working day ahead of the effective date.
During those periods when resource cannot match demand, actions which have a monetary impact on members, such as retirement and death benefit payments will be prioritised. Two activities fell considerably short of target; the provision of leaver option notifications (53%) and refund quotations (73%). The remaining three actions that fell short of target are within 4% of standard.