Wrthi'n llwytho
Does dim crynodeb o'r cyfarfod hwn eto. Caiff un ei ysgrifennu pan fydd y cyngor yn cyhoeddi'r cofnodion. Mae'r agenda a'r papurau isod.
1.1 Apologies were received from Mr. Harford, Mr. Rushworth and Mrs. Waters.
Board Member In Receipt of Pension Contributor Bob Campbell Self Rhian Hayden Mother Self and sister Ian Reese Self Clive Rogers Self Anthea Wellington Self and husband Daughter John Wright Self and wife Daughter 2.1 Board Members confirmed the following declarations of personal interest: 2.2 The CLO left the meeting.
3.1 The Board noted that they were referred to as “the Committee” within the previous minutes which should be changed to “the Board” for accuracy. 3.2 The missing discussion on Agenda Item 14 was included within the exempt copy of the Local Pension Board minutes 25/10/2023.
4.1 The HoP gave additional verbal updates on each action point. In respect of the second point, cost transparency would continue to be supported and followed up. 4.2 The PM confirmed that a further newsletter in respect of Pensions Awareness week would be circulated within the next week which would hopefully garner additional interest in the scheme. 4.3 The Pension Board noted the Action Sheet.
5.1 The Pension Board considered the minutes of the Pensions Committee held on 11/09/2023. 5.2 The Pension Board agreed to note the minutes.
6.1 The Pension Board considered the draft minutes of the Pensions Committee held on 13/11/2023. 6.2 The Pension Board agreed to note the draft minutes.
7.1 The Pension Board noted that there was a typing error on page 44 which stated the year of the next meeting was 2023 instead of 2024. 7.2 The Pension Board agreed to note the draft minutes once this change was made.
8.1 The PM outlined the report and provided an update on administrative services provided by the Pensions Section and highlighted several areas of current activity and development. 8.2 The following points were highlighted within the report: • Key Performance Indicators could be seen on page 55 of the report. There were a number of transfers currently on hold due to the new McCloud regulations which recently came into effect. • My Pension Online registrations had continued to grow. It was expected that there would be a further increase in registrations in September when the Annual Benefit Statements are sent to all members of the Fund. • There had been positive and informative Cyber Security exercise undertaken recently by the Pension Manager, Chief Information Security Officer and Heywood Pension Technologies which tested a potential Cyber Security risk scenario within a controlled environment. • The LGPS “Pension Dashboard” would aim to go live in October 2025. Between now and the Staging date, the Fund would be carrying out an exercise to review its member data to ensure it is present and correct. The Pension Dashboard is also expected to help re-engage with members who have lost contact with the Fund. 8.3 Following questions from the Local Pension Board, the PM confirmed the following: • Current passwords being used by members of the Fund’s for My Pensions Online could not be checked. The exact format of the password requirements would be fed back to members of the Board. • There was constant monitoring of potential cyber security risks being undertaken with a number of identified concerns being blocked each month. • The opt-in figure for the 50/50 scheme during this period was on par with average figures. • The Pension Ombudsman was dealing with one of the on-going internal dispute cases, and they will be in contact with the Fund once they have made a determination. 8.4 The Local Pension Board gave thanks to the Pensions Manager and wider Pensions Team for their hard work. It was noted that this was a positive report, but it was acknowledged there was a period of change which could possibly affect workloads due to the new McCloud regulations and the upcoming pensions dashboard. 8.5 The Pension Board noted the contents of this report.
9.1 The PM outlined the report and provided an update on the yearly data improvement plan of the Greater Gwent (Torfaen) Pension Fund. The yearly data could be seen within paragraph 5.2 of the report. The results were provided for the previous four years which showed a steady overall improvement. 9.2 98% of member records did not fail any of the tests performed for common data, and 98.25% of member records did not fail any of the tests performed for conditional data which was an increase on the previous year. The majority of data fails relating to common data were surrounding missing addresses on records and the report included a plan to source this information. 9.3 Following questions from the Board, the PM & HoP made the following points: • There were no specific data comparisons undertaken with other pension funds, but these figures were reported annually so this could be looked at in order to provide context to the report. • The pension actuary often complimented the data presented within this report which raised confidence in these figures. 9.4 The Pension Board noted the contents of this report.
10.1 The HoP outlined the report and asked members of the Local Pension Board to review the draft Investment Strategy Statement of the Greater Gwent (Torfaen) Pension Fund. 10.2 There had been extensive work undertaken on the investment strategy following the previous funding review. Since the previous policy was agreed in 2020, there had been significant developments which could prompt further new guidance in the future. A full summary could be seen on pages 73 and 74 which showed the exact work had been carried out. All changes made to the policy were denoted in red text within Appendix One of the report. 10.3 There would be a document circulated with Board Member comments and Officer responses sent to all members of the Board by 02/02/2024 alongside an updated version of Appendix One. 10.4 Following questions from the Board, the HoP made the following points: • The typing error on page 80 of the report would be revised in the next version. • The flow chart on Page 80 had been structured to show that the Local Pension Board role was to ensure all regulations were being followed. • Despite the overall funding level improving at the 2022 valuation, contribution rates for a number of employers were still rising. There was a collective view that, in order to allow employer contribution reductions, funding levels needed to reach a sustainable level that would likely be in excess of 100%. However, this would be discussed with the Fund’s actuary at the appropriate time. 10.5 Members of the Pension Board agreed to note this report and commented where appropriate. The meeting took a short break due to a peaceful protest in the lobby of the Civic Centre.
11.1 The HoP outlined the report and provided the quarterly update on how the Pension Fund approached its management of risk. There had been updates made to the Risk Register during the previous review period which were reflected within the report. 11.2 The Risk Register had been updated to reflect the current holding of cash for operational reasons. This money had been returned from a long-term investment and it was currently being held in order to redeploy. There had also been an update to the register in respect of current geo-political risks. There would be a comprehensive review of the Risk Register undertaken in the coming months. 11.3 Following questions from the board the HoP confirmed the following: · There had been no changes to the residual risk score during this period. If there had been changes to this in the past, the update was included in the cover report and a verbal update would also be provided. This would be reviewed to establish whether there was a more efficient way to undertake this. 11.4 The Local Pension Board noted the updated Risk Register and commented as appropriate.
12.1 The HoP outlined the report and provided an update on the work undertaken by the Wales Pension Partnership (WPP) on behalf of the eight LGPS funds in Wales. 12.2 The Link Fund Solutions acquisition had been completed and they were now operating as Waystone Group. Waystone Group provided similar services to the UK and ROI market as were provided previously and all key staff from Link Fund Solutions were now part of Waystone Group which ensured a seamless transition for the WPP. This contract was due to expire in December 2024 and the WPP were in the middle of the procurement process in terms of identifying a preferred bidder to provide services from January 2025. Further updates on the outcome of this process would be presented to members in due course. 12.3 It was noted that there was a typing error within paragraph 5.3 of the report and the Global Credit figure should read £232m. 12.4 Following questions from the Local Pension Board the HoP confirmed the following: • At least one other LGPS Pool had appointed Waystone Group to provide operator services. • The responsibility for cost transparency and disclosure within CTI templates belonged to the relevant Investment Manager. Whilst this process had been in place for several years further work was required across the industry to ensure information was being presented consistently. There would be further reflection to see if this information sharing could be improved. • It was not known whether any other LGPS funds in Wales felt that there was a lack of transparency or information being shared but it was noted that this could be raised at the biannual meeting of Pension Board Chairs. • There was currently an underspend in respect of the Board’s annual budget and further details of this would be shared at the next meeting. 12.5 Pensions Board noted the content of this report as well as the respective appendices.
13.1 The PM outlined the report and provided an update on the Greater Gwent (Torfaen) Pension Fund – Training Plan 2023/2024. 13.2 Any additional training that had been submitted after the deadline for this report would be reflected in the next annual training plan for 2024/2025 which would be brought to the next Local Pension Board meeting. If there was any specific training that members of the Board wished to attend then this would be incorporated into the plan. All training dates currently already booked would be circulated to members of the Board. 13.3 Members of the Local Pension Board noted the training updated provided within this report for information and comment.
14.1 The date of the next meeting was noted.
15.1 The Board agreed to the exclusion of the press and public from the meeting as presentations and meeting papers were not for publication because in accordance with paragraphs 12 and 14 of part 4 of Schedule 12a of the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended by the Access to Information Variation Order Wales 2007), it contained information about a particular individual and information relating to the financial and business affairs of particular persons including the Council and in all the circumstances of the case the public interest in maintaining the exemptions outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.
16.1 The Pension Board considered the exempt minutes of the Pensions Committee held on 11/09/2023. 16.2 The Pension Board agreed to note the minutes.
17.1 The Pension Board considered the exempt minutes of the Pensions Committee held on 11/12/23. 17.2 The Pension Board agreed the note the minutes. 17.3 The meeting ended at 11:30am.
Rhaid i gynghorwyr ddweud pan fydd ganddyn nhw gysylltiad personol â rhywbeth sy'n cael ei drafod, fel swydd, eiddo neu aelod o'r teulu. Mae buddiant sy'n rhagfarnu yn ddigon cryf i'r cynghorydd adael yr ystafell fel arfer a pheidio â chymryd rhan.
Caiff datganiadau eu darllen o'r cofnodion unwaith y byddan nhw wedi'u cyhoeddi.
Dyw'r cyngor ddim wedi cofnodi presenoldeb ar gyfer y cyfarfod hwn.
Yn rhestru cynghorwyr presennol y cyngor yn unig. Nid yw aelodau cyfetholedig, swyddogion a chyn-gynghorwyr yn cael eu dangos.