The Pensions Administration Standards Association (Pasa) has today (30 March) published COVID-19 guidance for pension scheme administrators.

The priorities in the guidance are aligned with those outlined by The Pensions Regulator (TPR) earlier this month, including continuing to pay promised benefits, ensuring sufficient funds are available, and keeping accurate records of any ongoing work.

The guidance has highlighted basic enablers as a crucial tool in the current remote working environment, identifying around 12 basic enablers for administrators to consider.

These include daily operations and leadership calls; planning for critical task; reviewing cashflow policy; and communicating with members.

Commenting on the guidance, Pasa chair, Kim Gubler, said: “In the space of a few weeks the world has changed for us all, the COVID-19 pandemic represents a once in a generation global shift.

"For us in the world of pensions, business resilience and agility during these next few months will be critical in ensuring members are protected.

“Pension administrators will need to transform their way of working to enable their people to deliver effective remote services to clients and members."

“There will be slippage,” she emphasised, “no matter the scale of the administrator."

The guidance has also identified higher level enablers that some administrators will be able to utilise, such as diverting calls and ensuring access to supplementary equipment.

However, it acknowledged that the implementation of these would be dependent on respective scheme operations and technology.

Gubler added: “Our guidance will support administrators through this uncertain period, guiding them through both basic and higher enablers so we continue to deliver to members.

"Crucially, this is also a time when members are particularly vulnerable, potentially isolated from their friends and family. We also need to ensure our protections from scammers remain robust.”

Industry experts have raised concerns that COVID-19 had created the a 400 per cent surge in COVID-19 related scams in March alone.

TPR's own recently updated COVID-19 guidance also places a priority on protecting members from coronavirus related scams, with a 3 month suspension of transfer activity included.

TPR welcomed the guidance, with its executive director of regulatory policy, analysis and advice, David Fairs, adding: “Administrators have a critical role to play during this crisis, by ensuring that benefits are paid promptly, in particular to those most vulnerable.

“We welcome this guidance from Pasa, which will help them in delivering this fundamental role in these difficult and challenging circumstances.”

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