Agenda and minutes

The minutes of the meeting held on 14 December 2015 were taken as read, confirmed and signed.

The Chief Executive reported that no questions had been received under Standing Order 35.

The Chief Executive reported that no questions had been received under Standing Order 7(3) and 7(5).

There were no items for consideration.

The Chairman invited members who wished to do so to declare any interest in respect of items on the agenda for the meeting. No declarations were made.

The Board considered a report of the Director of Corporate Resources, regarding the performance of the Pension Section against its performance indicators.  A copy of the report, marked ‘6’, is filed with these minutes.

The Director confirmed that legislation concerning the aggregation and interfund transfers of Local Government Pension Scheme members’ pension benefits, as a result of the introduction of the Career Average Revalued Earnings (CARE) scheme, had been issued and the Pension Section had begun working through the significant backlog of cases.

Members noted that the Pension Section’s performance for the period October to December 2015 had been encouraging. Whilst some of the response rates remained below the overall target, the time taken to produce pension payments and death benefits had reduced since the last quarter.  

RESOLVED:

That the report be noted.

The Director of Corporate Resources presented a report which provided an update concerning training sessions which had been provided to members of the Local Pension Board and any future planned events.

Arising from discussion, the following points were noted;

·         The majority of Board members had already attended several training sessions which had focused on a range of key areas identified within the training needs analysis form;

·         As previously acknowledged by the Board, members would benefit from completing the Public Service online toolkit alongside attending officer led training sessions;

·         New employer/employee representatives who were elected to the Board would have access to the full training programme as set out in the Training Needs analysis form;

·         As members had previously had difficulties attending training sessions due to other commitments it was proposed to arrange sessions to coincide with dates of Board meetings wherever possible.

RESOLVED:

a)    That the report be noted;

b)    That officers be requested to ensure where possible that future training sessions coincide with meetings of the Board.

The Board received a report by the Director of Corporate Resources, the purpose of which was to inform the Board of the Pension Section’s draft Joint Administration and Communication Strategy.  A copy of the report, marked ‘8’, is filed with these minutes.

The Director reported that the Strategy, which would act as a service level agreement between the County Council Pension Section and scheme employers, had been consulted upon and would be published in April 2016.

Members welcomed the Strategy which detailed the responsibilities of both Scheme administrators and its employer members. In response to a question concerning the short timeframe between the end of the financial year and the deadline for employers to provide year end information, the Director confirmed that employers had received the year – end template and guidance. Following the implementation of a new system, certain employers would be encouraged to provide information required for valuation on a monthly basis rather than wait until year end.

RESOLVED:

That the report be noted.

The Board considered a report of the Director of Corporate Resources, which provided an update concerning the Pension Section’s production of annual benefit statements. A copy of the report, marked ‘9’, is filed with these minutes.

Members supported the Pension Section’s approach to managing those employers who did not meet the 2015/16 year end deadlines as outlined in the report. It was noted that if further action was required to manage employers who were not expected to meet the deadline of the 31 August 2016, a meeting of the Board could be convened in order for members to be updated.  

RESOLVED:

That the report be noted.