None received.

Members are reminded that they should declare any interests which may lead to conflicts of interest in the subject area or any specific agenda item of this meeting.  A conflict of interest is defined as a financial or other interest which is likely to prejudice a person’s exercise of functions as a member of the Pension Board. It does not include a financial or other interest arising merely by virtue of that person being a member of the LGPS.

None were declared. 

The Minutes of the meeting held on 19 July 2024 are attached for confirmation.

Minutes of the meeting held on 19 July 2024 were confirmed as a correct record. 

Matters Arising

Paragraph 5. Administration and Regulatory Updates

In response to a query the Pensions Administration Manager confirmed that there would be an update on work around the Pensions Dashboard later on in the meeting which included an update on data quality.

In response to a query around the merging of personal records, the Pensions Administration Manager confirmed that they did ensure that records were matched and merged, where necessary.

To receive any questions from the public, notice of which has been given in accordance with Procedure Rule 14.  The deadline for this meeting is 12.00 noon on Monday 4 November 2024.

No public questions were received.

Report attached. 

Contact:  Vicky Jenks (01743 252192)

The Board considered the report of the Pensions Administration Manager which provided Board Members with the latest administration and regulatory updates affecting the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS).

The Pensions Administration Manager introduced and amplified her report which updated Members on the work undertaken by the pensions administration team including Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and progress on projects including McCloud, Pension Dashboards and my Pension Online.  It also provided an update from the Scheme Advisory Board.

The Pensions Administration Manager drew attention to Appendix A which set out how the team were performing in relation to the 16 KPIs for the period 1 April 2024 to 30 September 2024 with 95% being the target.  Appendix A also set out a comparison between quarters, as requested by the Pensions Committee.  She reported that the customer target was ambitious compared to the legal target and were set within their Administration Strategy which was due to be reviewed within the next 6 months when they would look to align the customer target more closely to the legal targets.  She reported that many of the workflows were achieving close to or above 95% of the legal target and where they were not, they were looking to recruit two new Pensions Assistants to work on achieving those targets.

The Pensions Administration Manager informed the meeting that the Cyber Security Policy had been signed off by the Pensions Committee in June.  It had been tested in September via the Council’s Risk Assessment team alongside their Business Continuity Plan and their Business Impact Analysis and Service Recovery Plan.  The plans had been tweaked slightly but they were happy that there were robust processes in place.

She updated Members in relation to the ‘My Pensions Online’ portal which had been upgraded in October.  A soft launch had been undertaken with pensioners via a newsletter in order to gauge the types of questions they might get asked.  This allowed them to tweak the information available on the website including instructions for registering.  The next communication would be to those members who were already registered to let them know that they would have to transfer their account to the new facility.  She went on to explain why a phased approach had been taken.

Turning to McCloud, the Pensions Administration Manager reported that this work was ongoing, and they were currently looking to create the work plan for the rectification cases (those members who left the Pension Fund during the remedy period and needed an underpin applying to their benefits).  She explained that there were some cases where work could not be undertaken due to outstanding software developments to be delivered in the next 12 to 18 months along with outstanding guidance.

In relation to the Pension Dashboard, the Board were informed that they had signed up for their ISP connection to allow their software to connect to the system and would be implemented in January 2025 ready to go live by October 2025.  The team were currently undertaking a data  ...  view the full minutes text for item 17.

A verbal update will be provided by Dave Wright.

An update from the Pension Board Chairs meeting on 21 October 2024 had been circulated.  The Chairman drew attention to the Scheme Advisory Board report that was imbedded within the Minutes and which he felt was very interesting.

The Head of Pensions drew attention to the ongoing pensions review and although not much had been announced in the 30 October budget but there could potentially be some announcements in the Mansion House speech by the Chancellor on Thursday 14^th November as the report on phase one of the review was expected by the end of the year.  He reported that there had been some talk about more investment in the UK to drive economic growth and the progression of pension funds pooling assets.  He hoped to update Board members at the next meeting in January 2025.

It was reported that there was a new chairman of the Pension Board Chairs meeting along with a new LGPS Central team and it was felt that they would bring a different, much more client focussed approach.  The next meeting was on the 24 March 2025.

For Board Members to raise any questions following the recent Pensions Committee meeting.

Please click on the link below to access the reports considered by the Pensions Committee at its meeting on 13 September 2024.

Agenda for Pensions Committee on Friday, 13th September, 2024, 10.00 am — Shropshire Council

It was confirmed that the reports considered by the Pensions Committee at its meeting on 13^th September 2024 had been received by the Board and also that the meeting had been observed by two members of the Board.

In response to a query, it was confirmed that the two Telford & Wrekin Council representatives had been appointed to the Pensions Committee at its last meeting of Cabinet.

The next meeting of the Pensions Board will be held at 10.00 a.m. on the 24 January 2025.

The date of the next meeting was confirmed as Friday 25 January 2025 at 10am.

To RESOLVE that in accordance with the provision of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972, Section 5 of the Local Authorities (Executive Arrangements) (Meetings and Access to Information) (England) Regulations and Paragraphs 3 of the Council’s Access to Information Rules, the public and press be excluded during consideration of the following items.

RESOLVED:

That in accordance with the provision of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972, Section 5 of the Local Authorities (Executive Arrangements) (Meetings and Access to Information) (England) Regulations and Paragraphs 3 of the Council’s Access to Information Rules, the public and press be excluded during consideration of the following items.

The Exempt Minutes of the meeting held on 19 July 2024 are attached for confirmation.

The exempt minutes of the meeting held on 19 July 2024 were confirmed as a correct record.

Report Attached.

Contact:  Peter Chadderton (07990 086399)

The Board considered and noted the exempt report of the Pensions Investment and Responsible Investment Manager which provided an update on the general economic conditions and of the impact on the pension fund investments since July 2024.

For Board Members to raise any questions following the recent Pensions Committee meeting.

Please click on the link below to access the reports considered by the Pensions Committee at its meeting on 13 September 2024.

Agenda for Pensions Committee on Friday, 13th September, 2024, 10.00 am — Shropshire Council

The exempt reports considered by the Pensions Committee at its meeting on 13 September 2024 were received and discussed by the Board

Report attached.

Contact:  Alison Grange (01743 253823)

The Board considered and noted the exempt report of the Communications and Governance Team Leader which provided an update on governance issues.