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There is no summary of this meeting yet. One is written once the council publishes the minutes. The agenda and papers are below.
1.1 Apologies were received from Councillors Karl Gauden, Nicholas Simons and Chris Tew.
2.1 Members confirmed the following declarations of personal interest: Councillor In Receipt of Pension Contributor Jon Horlor NONE Self David Williams Self and wife Self and wife Nathan Yeowell Father and two other family members (aunts) Self
3.1 The minutes of the meeting held on 12 December 2022 were confirmed as an accurate record.
4.1 The Committee noted the minutes. 4.2 The PS left the meeting.
5.1 The HoP outlined the report and presented the Pension Fund annual budget for the financial year 2023/24. He highlighted the main areas of income and expenditure and the factors that could influence them. He added that the figures had been updated to reflect the 2022 Actuarial Valuation assumptions adopted by the Fund. 5.2 The HoP outlined the Cash Investment Strategy 2023/24 and the Revised Estimate 2022/23 and Forecast Income and Expenditure 2023/24. He confirmed that income from employees and employers had increased during the year as a result of pay awards and the planned increase that was agreed with employers as part of the 2019 Actuarial Valuation. 5.3 The Fund was in a cashflow positive position, and the HoP explained that this was not the case for all pension funds. 5.4 Members of the Committee praised officers for the very clear report and stated that the Fund’s financial position was a result of very good management from staff over the years. 5.5 The Pensions Committee noted the contents of the report and approved the Pension Fund budget for 2023/24.
6.1 The HoP outlined the report which asked the Committee to consider the contents of the Funding Strategy Statement (FSS) together with the draft Cessation Policy and the draft Contributions Policy. The Pensions Committee were also being asked to approve the revised policies for implementation from 1 April 2023 in accordance with the conclusion of the 2022 triennial valuation process. 6.2 The HoP reminded members of the Committee of the various sources of income for the Fund; however employer contributions was the only lever under the Fund’s direct control. He reassured everyone that a lot of engagement had taken place with employers regarding this area and all comments from the employers, members of the Pension Board, etc had been considered within the report and appendices. 6.3 The HoP outlined the role of the Fund’s Actuary, Hymans Robertson, during the above process and confirmed that he was comfortable with the level of support and advice that the Fund received from them. 6.4 Following questions from the Committee, the HoP made the following points: • Some employers had closed off access to new members of the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS). In this scenario, the existing members would carry the responsibility for meeting the costs of the LGPS. The approach was laid out in the policy and the Actuary was not looking to penalise these employers but did have to make sure that they could sufficiently fund the scheme until cessation. • The Fund was not behind the curve in terms of implementing these policies and some of the regulations came into force after the 2019 Actuarial Valuation had taken place. The RA and the Chair of the Pension Board agreed that the Fund was not behind the curve and gave examples to support this. 6.5 The Pensions Committee: (i) Noted the update provided and considered the revised FSS, together with the accompanying policies set out in the appendices to the report; and (ii) Approved the policy documents in accordance with the LGPS Regulations 2013 for publication to the Fund’s website with effect from 1st April 2023.
7.1 The HoP outlined the report which presented a Risk Management policy to members of the Committee for consideration and approval and provided an update on how the Pension Fund approached its management of risk. The Fund’s approach to risk needed to be aligned to the Council’s internal audit approach and this was now clearly set out within the policy. The Pension Board had considered the policy and their comments had been included within the report. 7.2 The HoP confirmed that in October 2022 the Pension Board had recommended that the risk register should be reviewed and revised. They suggested that it needed to be presented in a way that allowed members of the Committee and Board to digest it and contribute more easily. As a result, officers recommended that the register was split into strategic and operational risks. Strategic risks would be considered by the Committee and Board on a quarterly basis and operational risks would be considered annually, unless a significant event required that it be brought forward. 7.3 The HoP confirmed that updates to the risk register since it was last formally reviewed by the Pension Board in July 2022 were outlined within paragraph 6.6 of the report. 7.4 Councillor Williams commented that it was very positive that officers responded to the Pension Board’s recommendations and confirmed that he found the new approach and accompanying narrative to the risk register very helpful. 7.5 The Pensions Committee: (i) Reviewed the Risk Management policy and approved its publication with effect from 1st April 2023; and (ii) Noted the extent to which the existing risk monitoring process had been reviewed by officers and the changes proposed to the way in which risk was reported moving forward.
8.1 The HoP outlined the report on Pension Fund investment performance in the period 1 October 2022 through to 31 December 2022 (quarter 4 of 2022). 8.2 The HoP confirmed that the Fund had experienced a better quarter than the previous one and had posted a positive return of +3.75%, outperforming the benchmark return of +3.19% by 0.56%. In cash terms this equated to an increase in Fund value of approximately £140m to £3.623bn. 8.3 The HoP reminded members of the Committee that the Fund continued to be overweight in terms of its equity investments and underweight in terms of its alternative investments; however he reassured them that a clear way forward existed due to recent opportunities that were now available in terms of alternative investments. 8.4 The IA outlined Appendix 1 of the report and made the following comments: · A number of factors contributed to the narrow escape from a recession, such as the football world cup and the warmer winter in Europe. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth had remained remarkably resilient, and employment rates in the UK and US and mortgage rates were not causing as much strain as they could have. · The swift reversal of narrative regarding impacts on the markets had shown how difficult it was to map the economic backdrop. · The conflict in the Ukraine was no longer grabbing headline attention and the markets in China were now emerging from COVID-19. · The IA provided an update on investment performance regarding equity, sterling, fixed interest, real estate and alternatives. · The impact of the recent collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) would need to be monitored; however the banking sector was confident that it was due to the liquidity issues of one bank, not because of companies going bankrupt. 8.5 Following questions from the Committee, the HoP, IA and RA made the following points: • The IA confirmed that HSBC had bought SVB in the UK for £1 in a rescue deal. • The HoP reassured members of the Committee that he met all of the Fund’s investment managers, alongside the RA and the Graduate Pensions Officer, in order to understand their performance and any changes they anticipated in the markets. • The RA confirmed that investments around real estate included building improvements and business plans. She added that active management was required, and these individuals were skilled in their sector. She praised the approach of the HoP, adding that it was important that the Fund took its time and acted correctly in terms of these investments. • The HoP confirmed that a majority of the Fund’s investment managers were subject to redemption requests, with agreed timeframes in place. He stated that all of these requests had been met or were in the process of being met. 8.6 The Pensions Committee agreed to note the investment performance that had taken place during quarter four of 2022.
9.1 The PM outlined the report and provided a brief update on the administration services provided by the Pension Section and indicated a number of areas of current activity and development. 9.2 The PM was pleased to confirm that between 30 September 2022 and 28 February 2023, 1,952 members registered for My Pension Online, bringing the total to 16,329 (25% of the Fund’s total membership). Officers hoped that this number would increase further following the circulation of Annual Benefit Statements to members of the Fund in July and August 2023. 9.3 With regards to the consultation on changing the revaluation date in the LGPS, as outlined in paragraph 7 of the report, the PM confirmed that the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) had now confirmed their intention to proceed with this change. The Regulations would take effect from 31 March 2023. Consultation had taken place with employers and the Fund would need to inform its members of the change. 9.4 The PM confirmed that since the report was published the Fund had been informed that the launch of the Pension Dashboard would be delayed. The Fund would continue to prepare for the Pension Dashboard and keep members of the Committee informed of progress in this area. Following a question from the Committee, the PM stated that she understood that the delay related to the IT infrastructure involved. 9.5 The Pensions Committee agreed to note the content of the report.
10.1 The PM outlined the report and provided an update on training already undertaken by members of the Pensions Committee, for information, and to aid consideration of future training requirements. 10.2 The PM explained that paragraph 4 of the report highlighted the key messages and findings that arose from the Hymans National Knowledge Assessment (NKA) that the Fund and its members participated in 2022. She added that clear themes came out of the findings, which would help shape training over the forthcoming year. 10.3 Following questions from the Committee, the PM made the following points: • Officers appreciated that the majority of members were new to the Pensions Committee, and this was the case across many LGPS funds. Development would be tracked by conducting another NKA in two years’ time. • Some questions within the NKA appeared slightly ambiguous and as a result officers hoped that they would be able to help shape questions that would be included in the future. 10.4 The Pensions Committee agreed to note the training and development update received, together with the outcomes of the Hymans Robertson NKA.
11.1 The next meeting is scheduled to take place on 5 June 2023.
12.1 The Committee 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. 12.2 The Chair invited the four members of the Pension Board to continue observing the meeting.
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