Official UK procurement notice
Pension administration services · UK public procurement notice
Authority: United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionPension administration services
CPV: Group pension services · Insurance and pension services · Pension services
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · no lot value publishedProcedure terms & legal framework
From the official record- Procedure method
- Negotiated without publication of a contract notice
- Legal basis
- CELEX · 32014L0024 Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (Directive 2014/24/EU)
- Procurement category
- Services
- Notice status
- Awarded
- Procurement threshold
- Unspecified in notice
- Regulatory regime
- Standard
- Commercial structure
- Stand-alone contract (no framework)
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Yes (GPA)
- Recurring procurement
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 2 Dec 2024, 14:22 GMT
- Last source update
- 2 Dec 2024, 14:22 GMT
- Authority reference
JNCA/CG157/23- FTS notice number
2024/S 000-038769- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-04c183Find a Tender
- Why no open competition
The works, supplies or services can be provided only by a particular economic operator due to absence of competition for technical reasons
- Published justification
The contract is to supply pension administration services to UKAEA. UKAEA acts as scheme manager for several pension schemes, meaning there is a statutory requirement to run the schemes. There is no service requirement for investment management or advice under this contract.
Reason for non-competitive action - Timing and cost Issue caused by legislation (see below)
Under the Public Service Pensions Act 2013 the UKAEA pension scheme (‘Scheme’) is required to close to future accrual (i.e. individuals will stop building up pension) and ensure active members start building up pension in ‘alpha’, part of the civil service pension scheme. The alpha contract is overseen by the Cabinet Office. UKAEA’s role in this will be as an employer, rather than contract manager.
This legally-mandated change was due to occur in 2017-18, however this has now been delayed until late 2026.
The existing contract for Pension administration services expires in March 2025.
Once the move to alpha occurs, the existing Scheme will have only deferred and pensioner members. Deferred members are those who are no longer building up pension but have not yet retired.
The UKAEA Scheme has 40k members, of which 4k are active.
Due to the transition costs and the duration it would take to transition to a new supplier with then having to halt any active member work from 2026 due to alpha ie the contract will need to have 12-18 months of a full admin service, then dropping down to just deferred/pensioners we will direct awarded to our existing administration providers to ensure continuity of service for this work.
- Review procedure
VI.4.2)Body responsible for mediation procedures
VI.4.3)Review procedure
Precise information on deadline(s) for review procedures:
The authority will incorporate a minimum 10 calendar day standstill period at the point information on the award of the contract is communicated to tenderers.
This period allows unsuccessful tenderers to seek further debriefing from the authority before a contract is entered into applicants have 2 working days from the notification of the award decision to request. Additional debriefing and that information have to be provided within a minimum of 3 working days before the expiry of the standstill period. Such additional information should be sought from the contact named in this notice.
If an appeal regarding the award of a contract has not been successfully resolved, the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (SI 2015 No. 102) provide for aggrieved parties who have been harmed or are at risk of harm by a breach of the rules to take action in the High Court (England, Wales and Northern Ireland).
Any such action must be brought promptly.
(generally within 3 months).
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast| Awarded to | Value | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paymaster (1836) Limited | £6,500,000 † | — | Awarded |
Contracts
Pension administration services · Paymaster (1836) Limited
- Signed
- 8 Oct 2024
- Value
- £6,500,000
- Status
- active
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Dispute resolution & review bodies
- UK Atomic Energy AuthorityMediation bodyReview bodyReview contact point
Bidders & participating suppliers
1 commercial party on the notice- Paymaster (1836) LimitedAwarded supplier
Official documents & specifications
Official links; attachments are not copiedNo document links were published on the notice.