Performance
Performance and Compliance
Administration
Performance relating to key administration tasks declared in our Pension Administration Strategy and compliance with The Pension Regulator's General Code of Practice.
KPI percentages achieved for administration targets over last 5 years
| Notification | Target | 24/25 | 23/24 |
22/23 |
21/22 |
20/21 |
| Death in service | 5 days | 94% | 87% | 82% | 90% | 72% |
| Death of deferred/pensioner notification to dependent (new for 2024/25) | 5 days | 86% | ||||
| Deferred benefit CARE only (new for 2024/25) | 60 days | 99% | ||||
|
Deferred benefit Final Salary (new for 2024/25) |
60 days | 95% | ||||
| Retirement estimate | 10 days | 100% | 96% | 95% | 97% | 94% |
| Actual retirement | 10 days | 81% | 92% | 90% | 86% | 76% |
| Deferred benefit | 10 days | 98% | 95% | 96% | 92% | 69% |
| Refund of contributions | 10 days | 96% | 98% | 98% | 96% | 93% |
| Transfer in | 10 days | 85% | 69% | 68% | 60% | 61% |
| Transfer out | 10 days | 79% | 56% | 63% | 58% | 33% |
Data Quality & Compliance
| The Pensions Regulator Data Scores | 2023 | 2024 | Change % |
| Common Data | 98.7% | 98.7% | +0.8% |
| Scheme Specific Data | 99.2% | 98.9% | -0.3% |
| Annual benefit Statement Compliance | 2023 | 2024 | Change % |
| Statements issued before 31 August Deadline | 99.78% | 99.92% | +0.14% |
| Pension Saving Statements | 2024 | 2025 | Change % |
| Statements issued before 6 October Deadline | 100% | 100% | 0% |
Internal Audit
The internal audit function, for the Fund, is under contract to Aberdeenshire Council. Each year internal audit focus on a particular area or process within the Fund to evaluate control measures, provide assurance and identify areas of improvement.
In 2024/25 the internal audit focused on payroll, with the outcome and recommendations reported to the Pensions Committee. The full report can be found below:
Actuarial Valuations
The Fund is valued every 3 years. The valuation assesses whether the funds held are sufficient to meet the funding target, and to assess the contributions required to provide for the benefits.
Finance
The Fund’s total asset value sits at £6.3bn. Investment returns over the last year have been positive against a difficult market backdrop with constant changes regarding sentiment towards interest rates and inflation affecting different asset classes.
It is notable that the NESPF continues to outperform both our individual benchmark and other comparators such as CPI and average earnings over the long term.
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£6.3bn
Total Fund Value
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£85.4m
Investment Income
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£41m
Employee Contributions
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£108m
Employer Contributions
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£257m
Pension Benefits Paid
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£25m
Admin & Investment Costs
Awards
There are a number of bodies which recognise the work done within the Pensions industry with national awards to celebrate excellence within pension schemes. These awards wins and nominations reflect the Fund's achievements over the years.
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Pensions Age Awards
Wins
- Pensions Administration - 2025
Nominations
- Pensions Administration - 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021
- DB Pension Scheme of the Year - 2025, 2024, 2021
- Best Investment Strategy - 2025, 2024, 2023
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LAPF Awards
Wins
- Scheme Administration - 2022
Nominations
- LGPS Fund of the Year (Assets over £2.5bn) - 2024, 2023, 2021, 2018
- Scheme Administration - 2025, 2024, 2023, 2021
- Investment Innovation - 2025
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Professional Pension
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Wins
- Public Sector Pension Scheme of the Year - 2017
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Nominations
- DB Scheme of the Year (Over £500m) - 2017
- Best Use of IT & Technology - 2017
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LGC Investment
Wins
- Quality of Service - 2016
Nominations
- Fund of the Year (large) - 2025, 2024
- Outstanding Individual Contribution - 2025, 2024
- Rising Star - 2025, 2024
- Innovation in Administration - 2025
- ESG Innovation - 2025