Services

Kingsland Court focuses its services on supporting its clients in the discharge of the full range of their responsibilities.

Our clients include scheme sponsors and Trustees and our range of services therefore encompasses the needs of both these groups.

1. Kingsland Court’s Scheme Administration Services

1. Maintenance of a comprehensive membership database, usually known as the Member Register.
2. Processing new entrants by:

• Receiving personal and employment details from the Sponsor
• Ensuring completion of member joining forms, beneficiary nominations and all other relevant documentation
• Creating new member register record and member account

1. Processing and validation of contributions. This involves:

• System-generated calculation of contributions due
• Electronic upload of employer contributions reports to the system
• Validation of current month contributions by comparing the data provided by the Sponsors with the system data and the previous month’s contributions
• Production of exception reports and follow-up to reconcile the exceptions
• Final posting of contributions to member accounts

1. Maintenance of member accounts. This involves:

• At intervals agreed with the Trustees, distribution of net investment income to member accounts (in DC schemes)

1. Management of member relations. This encompasses relations with all categories of members and involves:
2. Processing leavers and calculation and payment of benefits as they fall due,
3. Processing of transfers in and out and related calculations.
4. Preparation of periodical member statements, including
5. Quarterly administration reports to Trustees covering membership issues, benefits matters, regulatory compliance etc:

These reports are presented to quarterly Trustees’ Meetings. The Administrator is required to attend Trustees’ Meetings to present the administration reports.

1. Production of membership data reports for annual audits (and triennial actuarial valuations for defined benefits schemes).
2. Where any benefits are insured, e.g. under Group Life Assurance arrangements, liaising with employer and preparation of relevant data and, if so instructed, assisting in obtaining quotations

Our Administration System

Kingsland Court Pensions Administration System (IPAS) has been designed by Kingsland Court’s Retirement Benefits Administration experts and IT software specialists in a sister company Informatique Systems and Solutions Limited (ISAS).

1. IPAS is web based, online pensions administration system whereby members can access their benefits statements and other selected reports online.
2. IPAS is built in conformity with the Retirement Benefits Authority (RBA) and Income Tax (KRA). Moreover it is designed to administer Tier 2 and Tier 3 contributions as per the NSSF Act 2013.
3. IPAS is a flexible system where reports generated can easily be tailored to incorporate the needs of the clients / sponsors / employers since the system is developed in-house.
4. IPAS has taken some considerable time and resource to develop and has undergone extensive testing to ensure that can deliver the optimum range and quality of services with the highest level of accuracy and security.
5. Support and development resources for IPAS comprise software experts from ISAS and retirement benefits experts within Kingsland Court and we are committed to maintaining IPAS at the leading edge of retirement benefits administration technology.

2. Kingsland Court’s Scheme Accounting Services

The Scheme Accountant’s tasks include:

a) Maintaining, the books of account of the scheme, involving collating all asset and liability and income and expenditure information from the Investment Manager, the Custodian and the Administrator, and updating at frequencies suited to the size and activity of the fund.

b) Ensuring proper accruals and provisions are made for income and expenditure items which occur across accounting periods, e.g. RBA levy, audit costs, income on term interest bearing assets etc.

c) Reconciling the data from the various sources and aggressively investigating and pursuing all unreconciled items. These reconciliations are to be carried out at regular intervals throughout the scheme financial year to avoid potential reconciliations difficulties at audit times.

d) Preparation of detailed quarterly financial statements which incorporate:

• Net asset statements
• Income and expenditure statement

and include full explanatory notes. These are to be presented at quarterly Trustees’ Meetings. The Administrator/Accountant is required to attend Trustees’ Meetings to present the financial statements.

e) Managing the scheme’s tax affairs including preparation and submission of tax returns

f) Preparation of the annual financial statements for purpose of audit and related tasks and responsibilities

g) Management of follow-up actions on matters raised in auditor’s Management Letter.

h) Preparation and submission of statutory returns to RBA, Commissioner of Income Tax and, as required, Commissioner of Insurance.

3. Kingsland Court’s Trust Secretariat and Advisory Services

Many scheme sponsors and trustees expect the Scheme Administrator to provide a range of ancillary services falling generally within our definition Trust Secretariat These services include those which fall into the main categories of Trust Secretariat and Compliance Management and include:

1. Trust Secretarial services.
2. Maintaining all scheme documentation including the Trust Deed and Rules, involving periodical reviews, preparation of supplemental deeds, including Deeds of Amendment, Deeds of Removal and Appointment etc. Consolidations should be considered at intervals generally not exceeding 7 years.
3. Managing relations with the regulators, including ensuring timely submission of all required returns and managing compliance with the Retirement Benefits Authority Regulations and the Income Tax Rules.
4. Ensuring compliance with the requirements of the Trust Deed and Rules
5. Assisting the trustees with periodical reviews of appointments and formulation of service and service level agreements.
6. Where necessary, assisting trustees in selection of other advisers, e.g. legal advisers, auditors etc and managing relations with them.
7. Remaining abreast of developments in the retirement benefits industry, including the regulatory environment and related disciplines and advising the Trustees and the employers on how they should respond, if at all, to such developments.
8. Ensuring Trustees receive appropriate Scheme – specific training in all aspects of their duties to complement their TDPK training

In addition, our role as Executive Secretariat of the Association of Retirement Benefits Schemes makes us privy to consultative and exploratory communications from/with the regulators.