Agendas, Meetings and Minutes - Agenda and minutes

Agenda and minutes

Venue: County Hall, Worcester

Contact: Simon Lewis, Committee Officer 

Items
No. Item

Available papers

The Members had before them:

 

A.    The Agenda papers (previously circulated);

 

B.    The Agenda papers and Minutes of the Pensions Committee meeting on 16 June 2017 (previously circulated); and

 

C.   The Minutes of the meeting held on 5 April 2017 (previously circulated).

69.

Apologies (Agenda item 1)

Minutes:

Apologies were received from Mr P Grove and Ms K Wright.

70.

Declaration of Interest (Agenda item 2)

Minutes:

Mr K Bray declared general interests in his role as the Forum Officer of the Local Authority Pension Fund Forum (LAPFF) - the Worcestershire Fund is a long-standing Forum member and in relation to work he undertook with a firm of US lawyers who were involved with Shareholder Litigation and had the County Council as one of its clients.

71.

Confirmation of Minutes - 5 April 2017 (Agenda item 3)

To confirm the Minutes of the meeting held on 5 April 2017. (previously circulated)

Minutes:

RESOLVED that the Minutes of the meeting held on 5 April 2017 be confirmed and signed as a correct record by the Chairman.

72.

Pensions Committee - 16 June 2017 (Agenda item 4)

Administering Authority Administration update – for review by the Board

Malvern Hills Trust – for review by the Board

Pension Fund Investment update – for review by the Board

Infrastructure and Property Investments – for review by the Board

Alternative Indices Investments – for review by the Board

LGPS Central update – for review by the Board

LGPS Central Regulatory Business Plan, Cost Savings and Regulatory Capital – for review by the Board

 

For existing members, the Agenda papers and Minutes have previously been sent to you. For new members, they are attached. Please bring your copy with you to the meeting.

Minutes:

The Board received the Agenda papers and Minutes of the Pensions Committee meeting held on 16 June 2017. Mark Forrester and Bridget Clark gave a brief summary and commentary on the various items considered by the Pensions Committee.

 

Administering Authority – Administration Update

·         What had been the particular teething problems associated with the implementation of the new payment system? Bridget Clark commented that two members of the Pension Fund had not received their lump sum payments and as a result, emergency payments had had to be arranged within 24 hours. In addition, there had been delays in the receipt of Leavers CARE Pay forms which had resulted in delays to the payment of pensions. The Senior Escalation Board which included a Director of Liberata and senior Council officers had met and agreed a course of action to resolve the matters

·         In response to a query, Bridget Clark indicated that she was not aware of what systems were used by other Pension Funds. A request to bring the transactional processing back into the Fund was being prepared to improve the control mechanisms. The errors amounted to a small number but had created a lot of additional work

·         Had HMRC been challenged to ensure that the GMP Reconciliation was carried out on a national basis? Bridget Clark advised that the matter had been raised with the relevant national bodies

·         As part of the Reconciliation work, had any issues arose that needed reporting to the Pensions Regulator? Bridget Clark stated that no breaches had occurred, it just a matter of undertaking the necessary data cleansing with HMRC

·         In response to a request, Bridget Clark undertook to include a blank copy of the Annual Benefits Statement as an Agenda item for the next meeting of the Board.

 

Pension Investments Update

·         In response to a query, Mark Forrester stated that an active decision had been made not to hedge overseas currency and as a result, the fall in the pound had benefited the Pension Fund

·         It was noted that the relative return against benchmark for the Fund had been positive and this was welcomed

·         Were there any plans to protect funding level improvements? Mark Forrester commented that the ability to lock in the gains was being investigated and an update would be provided in due course

·         How did the Pension Fund's Risk Adjusted Return percentage compare with other Funds over a three year period? Mark Forrester responded that the Fund had performed well compared to peers on a risk adjusted return basis over the past one and three years. Efforts continued to be made to reduce risk whilst at least maintaining levels of return.

 

LGPS Central Update

·         In response to a query, Mark Forrester confirmed that LGPS Central planned to appoint a Chief Risk/Compliance Officer in due course.

 

The Committee Reports and Minutes were noted.

73.

Key Performance Indicators 2017/18 (Agenda item 5) pdf icon PDF 14 KB

For review by the Board.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Board considered the key performance indicators 2017/18.

 

In the ensuing debate, the following principal points were raised:

 

·         Member training was dependent on the vagaries of the electoral process, with membership of the Board continually changing. It was very challenging for new members of the Board to get up to speed especially if they did not have any relevant experience. The question that should be asked was whether Members were engaging in the training provided

·         In response to a query, Mark Forrester explained that Level 2 Compliance with the Stewardship Code 2017 related to a quality assurance standard criteria which required the Pension Fund to demonstrate its corporate governance compliance

·         Were there any issues that should be included as a key performance indicators? Mark Forrester indicated that he was satisfied that the list was comprehensive

·         In response to a query about cyber security, Mark Forrester commented that a separate Risk Register was maintained for cyber security issues

·         What guidance was provided to retiring members regarding potential fraud from cyber-crime in relation to options to withdraw their pension? Mark Forrester indicated that he would ask Bridget Clark to respond to this query.

 

The Board noted the key performance indicators 2017/18. 

74.

Pension Board Annual Report (Agenda item 6) pdf icon PDF 92 KB

For review/action by the Board.

Minutes:

The Board considered its Annual Report.

 

In the ensuing debate, the following principal points were raised:

 

·         The Annual Report had been written in a concise a readable form

·         The Independent Chairman commented that the Board had an overseeing role and was not a decision-making body. He did not see the purpose of the Board to ask unnecessary questions to justify its existence but it had a role of adding value to the process. It was difficult to prove that the Board was adding value but he felt that as members gained more experience, the Board's impact and influence would increase.

 

The Board received its Annual Report.

75.

Pension Board SAB Survey (Agenda item 7) pdf icon PDF 2 MB

For review/action by the Board.

Minutes:

The Board considered the SAP Survey.

 

The Independent Chairman introduced the report. He commented that he had begun to complete the survey on line but felt there were a number of questions in the Survey that required a judgement by members of the Board. The Board provided the following responses to Questions in the Survey:

 

·         The Board were content with the answer provided for Question 17 i) to vi)

·         In relation to Question 21, the Board felt that there was a good relationship with officers and the training programme was good

·         In relation to Question 22, the Board felt that there had been an issue with the attendance of one of the Member representatives on the Board and in general there needed to be more stability of membership and regular attendance

·         The Board were content with the answer provided for Question 23 i) to vii)

·         In relation to Question 37, the Board felt that more regular attendance would improve working relationships.

 

The Board accepted the response to the SAB survey subject to the amendments set out above.

76.

Pension Board Member Training (Agenda item 8) pdf icon PDF 88 KB

For review/action by the Board.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Board considered its Member Training Programme.

 

The Board agreed that the knowledge and Skills Self-Assessment Questionnaire be circulated to all members of the Board. The completed Questionnaires would then form the basis of the Member Training Programme.

77.

Pension Board Work Plan (Agenda item 9) pdf icon PDF 32 KB

For review/action by the Board.

Minutes:

The Board considered its Work Plan.

 

The Board noted its Work Plan subject to:

 

a)    An update on MiFD 2 be brought to the meeting on 15 November 2017; and

 

b)    An update on the GMP Reconciliation be brought to the meeting on 15 November 2017.

78.

Any Other Business (Agenda item 10)

Minutes:

None.