Gold standard

Our Pensions Service Centre (PSC) in Sheffield has recently been re-accredited by the Pensions Administration Standards Association (PASA).

PASA, the independent body of industry professionals set up to drive up standards in pensions administration, has announced that Royal Mail has achieved PASA reaccreditation for the second time, five years since first being awarded the accolade in 2013.

The PSC administer both the Royal Mail Pension Plan and the Royal Mail Statutory Pension Scheme, looking after the benefits of almost 90,000 current employees of Royal Mail and around 125,000 ex-colleagues who have left the company but not yet taken their pension; and pay pensions to more than 220,000 pensioners.

Michael Mayall, head of Pensions & Severance, said: ‘Continuous improvement is hugely important to us and, for the past five years, PASA Accreditation has shown our members and the wider industry that we are committed to providing consistently first-class service, whilst offering a boost in morale for colleagues receiving public recognition of their hard-work.

‘Having felt these benefits since day one, deciding to undergo the process for a third time was a clear-cut decision. We were the first pensions administrator to achieve the Gold Standard back in 2013 and we have now been re-accredited for the second time so it’s tremendous news.’

Lorraine Harper, chair of PASA’s Accreditation Committee, said: ‘The Pensions Regulator recently said that good administration is the bedrock of a well-run pension scheme and PASA Reaccreditation is a crucial way of ensuring standards don’t slip, highlighting those striving for a high-quality long-term service.

‘We were very pleased to see Royal Mail successfully complete the process once again – our rigorous and thorough assessment requires a certain level of investment by those being assessed, but this demonstrates it to be worth the effort when considering the positive impact on an organisation and its members.’