PSPA is a Transactional System not a true Administration System

Does this sound like a familiar operational manual?

Go here and enter this, go there and enter that, then run this here, and check the results there, don’t forget to update that, and when you run into a problem call so-and-so, and then update the status in this spreadsheet, and so on.

A true administrative system would string together the processes. It should have ways to assign, monitor, and measure the process. Alerting users and managers of problems and opportunities for improving the process.

Out of the box, PSPA collects transactional data, it doesn’t really do a great job of tracking your corrections and adjustments to the data, it doesn’t have robust capabilities to receive that data from outside sources. It then processes that transactional data to create more transactions through the Periodic Process and Calculation processes. It comes with some clunky ways to link the calculation results to payroll instructions before it finishes with sending of those instructions to an outside payroll. Most people would say it’s not a true Pension Payroll Administration system as it only manages part of the workflow.

Pivot: Evolve from simply transactional to an administration system.

Workflows, Case Management, Analytics, Adaptive, Problem Anticipating, High Visibility Process Results, Member and Employer Portals.

When: assessing implementation of PSPA for Canadian Province replacing an actively maintained and evolving 20 year old system. Credit Evan for putting ideas into words.