Agenda and minutes

RESOLVED:

That Mrs. R. Page CC be appointed Chairman of the Local Pension Board.

Mrs. R. Page CC in the Chair

RESOLVED:

That Mrs. C. Fairchild be appointed Vice Chairman on the Local Pension Board.

The minutes of the meeting held on 8 November 2021 were taken as read, confirmed and signed.

The Chairman reported that Clare Scott had stepped down from her role as Independent Advisor to the Fund, and Members joined the Chairman in passing on their best wishes to Clare.

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

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 received a report from the Director of Corporate resources on relevant issues in the administration of Fund benefits, including the performance of the Pensions Section against its Performance Indicators. A copy of the report marked ‘Agenda Item 7’ is filed with these minutes.

Arising from the discussion the following points arose:-

i.          Part of the Administration Business Plan included the review and implementation of the Pension Regulator’s new code of practice that was expected at some point in 2022. It was proposed that the Board undertake a deep dive on the matter at a future meeting to review the Fund’s compliance against all areas of the new code.

ii.         In relation to general workload, preserved benefits and aggregations remained high along with retirements and deaths. The Board was assured that the section prioritised retirements and death cases to ensure benefits were paid within the timeline set.

iii.        Members were pleased to note the Fund had achieved a ‘green flag’ rating for all areas of the Government Actuary’s Departments Section 13 report that related to fund valuations as at 31 March 2019. Which denoted there were no material issues that required remedial action.

iv.        Concern was raised regarding the continued outstanding admission and bond agreements for Mowbray Education Trust  to Taylor Shaw (Elior).

RESOLVED:

a)    That the report be noted.

b)    That a letter expressing the Boards concern be sent to Mowbray Education Trust  and Taylor Shaw (Elior), in relation to the outstanding admission and bond agreements. 

The Committee considered a report of the Director of Corporate Resources on the Pension Section’s Business Plan and the Pension Fund’s proposed budget for 2022/23. A copy of the report, marked ‘Agenda Item 8’ is filed with these minutes.

Arising from the discussion the following points arose:-

i.          There were significant pressures on the Pension Section with upcoming pieces of work over business as usual, which included the Fund’s actuarial valuation, the pensions dashboard project,  McCloud, the Good Governance project and the Pensions Regulator new Code of Practice.

ii.         In response to a query regarding adequacy of resource the Pension Manager informed the Board that any issue with capacity would become apparent by the end of April when the Section received data from its employers and could clarify how many queries needed to be resolved ahead of the 31 August annual benefit statements statutory deadline. Members were assured that the management team would continue to monitor the situation.

iii.        There would likely be an increase in Pension Section costs in comparison to pervious years as a result of the previously discussed pressures on the Pension Section. Members noted that the Pensions Manager would complete a value for money statement as part of the Fund’s Annual Report.

iv.        Members recognised the importance of continued training, and noted that Board Members were recommended to complete modules on the Hymans Aspire training website.

RESOLVED:

That the report be noted.

The Board considered a report of the Director of Corporate Recourses providing an update on progress in respect of areas identified improvement within the Pensions Section. A copy of the report, marked ‘Agenda Item 9’, is filed with these minutes.

Arising from the discussion the following points were noted:-

i.             The Government had announced a proposed increase in the normal minimum pension age from 55 to 57 with effect from 6 April 2028. The change stated that members of registered pension schemes, who had a right to take their entitlement to a benefit under their scheme before age 57 before 4 November 2021 would have a protected pension age. The Pensions Section would consider the effects of the changes and communicate with members accordingly.

ii.            Changes had been made to the new starter processes to encourage users to register for Member Self Service.

iii.           Changes had been made to the Pensions Transfer Legislation to give funds the tools to refuse transfers where there was a heightened risk it may be part of a scam. The Fund would look to keep a ‘Clean List’ which would act as a record of low risk occupational and personal pensions schemes, to ensure low risk transfers were completed without delay. In terms of higher risk transfer requests, it was noted that it is expected  there will  be less than half a dozen a year that will require the transfer to cease, but numbers  would continue to be monitored.

RESOLVED:

That the report be noted.

The Board received a report of the Director of Corporate Resources on the revised Pension Fund Training Policy. A copy of the report marked ‘Agenda Item 10’ is filed with these minutes.

Members supported the revisions to the training policy for the Board and Local Pension Committee members which would help ensure that good governance of the Fund was maintained.

The Board would continue to receive training on a rolling basis and were encouraged to complete modules on the Aspire Hymans Learning website.

RESOLVED:

That the Board note the revised training policy.

The Board considered a report by the Director of Corporate Resources, the purpose of which was to detail any concerns relating to the risk management and internal controls of the Fund. A copy of the report marked ‘Agenda Item 11’ is filed with these minutes.

The Board welcomed changes to the risk register that arose following the meeting on 8 November 2021 and subsequent developments set out by the Pensions Manager.

RESOLVED:

That the report be noted.

The Board considered a report by the Director of Corporate Resources, the purpose of which was to update Members on the LGPS Central Joint Committee and Annual General Meeting. A copy of the report marked ‘Agenda Item 12’ is filed with these minutes.

RESOLVED:

That the report be noted.