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The decisions as the council's minutes record them. A plain-language summary follows once it has been written.
RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on the 26th March, 2025 be signed as a correct record.
RESOLVED that the Audit Plan 2025 be approved.
RESOLVED that the Dyfed Pension Fund Pension Board report for the meeting held on the 15th May 2025 be received.
RESOLVED that the final Dyfed Pension Fund Final Budgetary Position Report as at the 31st March 2025 be received.
RESOLVED that the Pension Administration Report in relation to the Dyfed Pension Fund be noted.
RESOLVED that the Dyfed Pension Fund Policies, as set out in report, be approved.
RESOLVED that the Breaches Report in relation to the Dyfed Pension Fund be noted.
RESOLVED that the risk register report be noted.
RESOLVED that the Training Plan for 2025-2026 be noted.
RESOLVED that the Carbon Footprint Update in relation to the Dyfed Pension Fund be noted.
RESOLVED that the update report be received.
RESOLVED that the revised Wales Pension Partnership (WPP) Business Plan for the period 2025-28 be approved.
RESOLVED that the: 15.1 Progression of the Wales Pension Partnership Fit for the Future Business Case approved by Government, be agreed. 15.2 Wales Pension Partnership Fit for the Future Business Case report be submitted to County Council for approval.
There were no apologies for absence. The Chair informed the Committee that he had, in exercising his discretionary functions, allowed two Members of the Public to ask the following questions to the Dyfed Pension Fund Committee, which would not be debated and a written reply be provided. Question 1 - (Mrs. Redfern) “Dyfed Pension Fund receives advice from Officers and Advisors who appear to believe that investment decisions are based only on fiduciary duties to the beneficiaries of the Fund. However, following the legal opinion given by Nigel Giffin KC. to the LGPS Advisory Board for England and Wales published on 13th January this year, it is now clear that individual LGPS funds are free to take non-financial factors into account when making investment decisions. Indeed, even before this advice, several LGPFs committed themselves to divest from companies complicit in Israel’s breaches of international law. The International Court of Justice’s interim ruling affirmed that there is plausible evidence that Israel is committing genocidal acts against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. Also, its advisory opinion has ruled that Israel's military occupation of the Gaza Strip and West Bank, including East Jerusalem, is unlawful and must end, and that Israel is in breach of the international prohibition of the crime of apartheid. The court affirmed that all states are under an obligation not to render aid or assistance to this unlawful situation. In the light of Nigel Giffin’s legal advice, will the Dyfed Pension Fund now remove investments that are complicit in the developing humanitarian crisis unfolding in Gaza and the Occupied Palestinian Territories and commit to an ethical, robust and transparent investment strategy, to ensure that the Dyfed Pension Fund cannot be invested in companies that contribute to any breach of international law and that it will align itself to the positions held by the International Court of Justice? This includes outlining what robust time-limited engagement practices are in place where complicit companies are identified, and what subsequent action can be taken if companies do not respond to engagement processes.” Question 2 - (Mr. Clay) “Members of the Committee should be aware of information from respected research bodies concerning LGPS investments in organisations complicit in breaches of International Law in Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem. These include research commissioned by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign. Do the Dyfed Pension Fund have investment in any of these bodies who have been listed as having a role in assisting Israeli War Crimes in Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem. If so do they intend to divest from any of these ? If so – when ? If not – why not ? The Committee receives advice from a number of Officers and Advisers all of whom appear to believe that investments decisions are based only on their fiduciary duties to the beneficiaries of the Fund. And the policy of “Engagement” rather than “Divestment.” However there are a number of clearly established exceptions to this approach. Could we be told who advises the committee on the wider issues of international law, findings by the International Court of Justice, and decisions by other Funds which have not met legal challenges to decisions to divest.”
Councillor Minute Number Nature of Interest D. Thomas All items Member of the Dyfed Pension Fund. Wife also a member of the Pension Fund. P. Warlow All items Member of the Dyfed Pension Fund. Wife also a member of the Pension Fund. E. Williams All items Member of the Dyfed Pension Fund.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on the 26th March, 2025 be signed as a correct record.
RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on the 26th March, 2025 be signed as a correct record.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED that the Audit Plan 2025 be approved.
The Committee welcomed to the meeting Jason Blewitt from Audit Wales who presented the Audit Plan 2025 for the Dyfed Pension Fund which specified the statutory responsibilities of the external auditor and fulfilled the obligations under the Code of Audit Practice. The Audit Plan set out the audit work to be undertaken to address the audit risks identified and other key areas of focus during 2025, stipulated the estimated audit fee and also provided details of the audit team and the key dates for delivering the audit team’s activities and planned outputs. UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED that the Audit Plan 2025 be approved.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED that the Dyfed Pension Fund Pension Board report for the meeting held on the 15th May 2025 be received.
The Committee received the Pension Board report, presented by the Chair of the Dyfed Pension Fund Pension Board, providing an update on the items discussed at the Board meeting held on the 15th May 2025. Reference was made to point 6 of the summary report regarding the questions on approach adopted on voting against management on Say to Pay and progress with developing and implementing local investment initiatives. The Chair of the Board confirmed that these issues would be discussed in more detail, at a future meeting. UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED that the Dyfed Pension Fund Pension Board report for the meeting held on the 15th May 2025 be received.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED that the final Dyfed Pension Fund Final Budgetary Position Report as at the 31st March 2025 be received.
The Committee received the final Dyfed Pension Fund Budgetary position for 2024-25 as at 31st March 2025 which showed an overspend compared to budget of £5.1m. It was reported that expenditure was overspent by £9.2m due to lump sum retirement benefits being £5m more than budget and transfers out being £5.7m more than budget. Pensions payable were overspent by £676k and lump sum death grants by £185k. Management expenses were below budget by £2.3m. In relation to pensions payable, at budget setting for 2024-25 an increase of 1.2% had been included to estimate the additional pensions paid on new pensioner members for the year whereas the actual increase in pensioner membership was closer to 1.9%. The Committee noted that income had exceed budget by £4.1m, with contributions being £2.4m more than budgeted, as a result of more augmentation income being received from employers than was anticipated at budget setting. The transfers in exceeded budget by £5m and investment income was below budget by £3.3m. Overall, total expenditure was £142.9m and total income was £137.8m. UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED that the final Dyfed Pension Fund Final Budgetary Position Report as at the 31st March 2025 be received.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED that the Pension Administration Report in relation to the Dyfed Pension Fund be noted.
The Committee received a report providing an update on Pensions Administration. The report included updates on the activities within the Pensions Administration service and included regulatory matters (McCloud/Sargeant and Pension Dashboard), breaches register, i-Connect, GMP reconciliation and workflows. Reference was made to the work and assistance being provided to Pembrokeshire College, Coleg Ceredigion, Coleg Sir Gar to use i-connect, with clarification being sought on the position relating to the Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service and Dyfed Powys Police also using the facility. The Head of Financial Services confirmed that due to other work priorities, both services had yet to commence using this facility. However, that assistance would be provided as soon as the current workload permitted. The Head of Financial Services informed members that the Pension Board and Committee, will receive a presentation on the Pension Dashboard at a future meeting. UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED that the Pension Administration Report in relation to the Dyfed Pension Fund be noted.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED that the Dyfed Pension Fund Policies, as set out in report, be approved.
The Committee were requested to approve the following policies, as set out in the report, to assist in complying with the new code: · Recovery of Overpayment Policy · Death Grant Policy · Anti-Fraud and Corruption Policy · Equality and Diversity Policy · Privacy Notice · Conflict of Interest Policy · Risk Management Policy The Committee noted that the Cyber Security Policy would be reported at the September Committee meeting. UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED that the Dyfed Pension Fund Policies, as set out in report, be approved.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED that the Breaches Report in relation to the Dyfed Pension Fund be noted.
The Committee received for consideration the Breaches Report in relation to the Dyfed Pension Fund which had been prepared in accordance with Section 70 of the Pension Act 2004, Code of Practice no 14 and the Dyfed Pension Fund Breaches Policy. The Committee’s attention was referred to the list of breaches appended to the report which detailed the instances where employee/employer contributions had not been received on time. UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED that the Breaches Report in relation to the Dyfed Pension Fund be noted.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED that the risk register report be noted.
The Committee received for consideration the Risk Register which detailed the risks identified in relation to the functions of the Dyfed Pension Fund. The report included an assessment of the potential impact, probability and risk rating for each identified area, together with the control measures implemented to mitigate the identified risks. The register for consideration focused upon the 8 Governance and Regulatory risks (identified as risk numbers G1-G8 in the register) and it was confirmed that following a review of the register, there had been no changes to individual risks identified since the previous Committee meeting. UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED that the risk register report be noted.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED that the Training Plan for 2025-2026 be noted.
The Committee received for consideration an update on the Training Plan for 2025-2026 which detailed the schedule of committee meetings, and training events for members and officers of the Dyfed Pension Fund. UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED that the Training Plan for 2025-2026 be noted.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED that the Carbon Footprint Update in relation to the Dyfed Pension Fund be noted.
The Committee received for consideration an update on the activity and progress in terms of the Fund’s Carbon Footprint position. The update illustrated the Weighted Average Carbon Intensity for the Fund’s equity portfolio, which had reduced by 10.7% in the year to 31 March 2025 and which represented a reduction of 13.9% p.a. over the four and a half years since the baseline in September 2020. UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED that the Carbon Footprint Update in relation to the Dyfed Pension Fund be noted.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED that the update report be received.
The Committee received the WPP’s Responsible Investments update report as at 31 March 2025 detailing recent Responsible Investments activity together with information on the following Sub-Funds in which the Dyfed Pension Fund had invested: · Global Growth · Sustainable Active Equity · Global Credit In addition to the above, the update also provided a Stewardship Summary together with the relevant appendices numbered 1-4 within the report. It was queried whether Robeco had any plans to engage with organisations operating in Palestinian territories. In response, the Treasury and Pension Investments Manager stated that a full list of engagements from the last quarter, would be provided to the Committee. UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED that the update report be received.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED that the revised Wales Pension Partnership (WPP) Business Plan for the period 2025-28 be approved.
The Committee received for consideration the Dyfed Pension Fund Business Plan for the period 2025-2028 the purpose of which was to: · Explain the background and governance structure of the Fund. · Outline the priorities and business objectives of the Fund over the next three years. · Introduce the Fund’s policies and plans. · Outline the financial budget for the relevant Business Plan period. · Summarise the Fund’s Investments & Performance Objectives. The 2005-2008 business plan was approved by the Pension Committee on 26 March 2025. The 2025-2028 business plan was approved by the Pension Committee on 26 March 2025, however this has since been revised to capture the design and enabling costs of Project Snowdon (WPP’s proposals as agreed by the UK Government to the Fit for the Future consultation). UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED that the revised Wales Pension Partnership (WPP) Business Plan for the period 2025-28 be approved.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED that the: 15.1 Progression of the Wales Pension Partnership Fit for the Future Business Case approved by Government, be agreed. 15.2 Wales Pension Partnership Fit for the Future Business Case report be submitted to County Council for approval.
The Committee received a report seeking agreement to progress with the implementation of the Wales Pension Partnership Fit for the Future Business Case and agreement for the reports to be submitted to County Council for approval. It was reported that pools were asked to submit a proposal, in addition to the consultation response, setting out how they would deliver the proposed pooling model and complete the transfer of all assets, including legacy assets by 31 March 2026. The WPP proposed plan / business case was approved by the Joint Governance Committee on 12 March 2025 and was subsequently approved by Government on 9 April 2025. The report informed that a WPP project group (Project Snowdon) was set up comprising of S151 officers / practitioners of all eight authorities and representatives from WPP’s appointed service providers (Hymans Robertson, Waystone, Russell Investments and Burges Salmon) to review and develop the proposal. It was reported that the WPP business case proposal was approved by the Joint Governance Committee (JGC) on the 12 March 2025 and submitted to government. The proposal was to establish a stand-alone Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”) authorised investment management company (“IM CO”) in line with Government criteria and to move all WPP assets into IM CO management in line with the timescales. In line with the existing Inter Authority Agreement, approval was required by the eight individual Constituent Authorities, in order to proceed with the implementation of the business case. UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED that the: 15.1 Progression of the Wales Pension Partnership Fit for the Future Business Case approved by Government, be agreed. 15.2 Wales Pension Partnership Fit for the Future Business Case report be submitted to County Council for approval.
UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED, pursuant to the Local Government Act 1972, as amended by the Local Government (Access to Information) (Variation) (Wales) Order 2007, that the public be excluded from the meeting during consideration of the following items as the reports contained exempt information as defined in paragraph 14 of Part 4 of Schedule 12A to the Act.
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