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No. | Item |
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APOLOGIES To receive
any apologies for absence Minutes: Apologies
were received from Councillors H. Eifion Jones (Isle
of Anglesey County Council Representative) and John P. Roberts |
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DECLARATION OF PERSONAL INTEREST To receive
any declaration of personal interest Minutes: Declarations of personal interest were received
from the Investment Manager
and the Deputy Investment Manager for item
11. The officers left the room during the discussion |
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URGENT ITEMS To note any
items which are urgent business in the opinion of the Chairman so that they may
be considered Minutes: The
Members were reminded of the discussion that had been held at the September
2015 meeting on the Welsh Pensions Collaboration Project together with a report
formed by Mercer business consultants
who had been investigating the possibility of merging the assets of the eight
Welsh funds. It was
explained that only unofficial statements had been published up to now, but it
appeared that a response to the consultation may be necessary before the next
meeting of the Pensions Committee (26.01.16). In order to secure a response from Gwynedd on
the benefits, it was suggested for the Head of Finance Department and the
Investment Manager to review the benefits, while consulting with the Chair of
the Pensions Committee. RESOLVED TO ACCEPT THE RECOMMENDATION |
|
The
Chairman shall propose that the minutes of the meeting of this committee held
on 8.9.15 to be signed as a true record Minutes: The Chairman
signed the minutes of the previous meeting of this committee, held on 8
September 2015, as a true record. |
|
STATEMENT OF INVESTMENT PRINCIPLES PDF 136 KB To
submit a report by the Investment Manager Minutes: Submitted
- the report of the Investment Manager highlighting the need to review the
Pension Fund's Statement of Investment Principles (SIP) together with agreeing
on a full consultation process with interested parties by March 2016. Members
were reminded of the decision that had been made at the Pensions Committee
23.03.2012 to increase some of the limits to the maximum amounts as permitted
under the regulations as follows: • Increase the sum that could be invested in any
single insurance contract to 35%. • Increase the limit for all contributions to any
single partnership to 5%. • Increase the total of all contributions to
partnerships to 15%. and that
these decisions would be reviewed within three years. As the
three year period was nearing its end, the need to review the decisions that
had been made was highlighted, as well as considering whether they remained
suitable for the Pension Fund. When deciding on the
progress it would be necessary to comply with appropriate requirements and as a
response to that, advice was sought from Paul Potter, the Fund's advisor. It was
noted that an initial review of the Statement of Investment Principles would be
produced by the officers, with a draft to be circulated to interested parties
during November and December 2015. The intention was to submit a final version,
following the consultation, to the Pensions Committee in March 2016 for
discussion and approval. RESOLVED TO APPROVE THE REPORT AND SUPPORT
THE LIMITS (35% / 5% / 15%) IN LINE WITH THE RECOMMENDATIONS, TOGETHER WITH THE
CONSULTATION ARRANGEMENTS |
|
TREASURY MANAGEMENT FOR 2014/15 PDF 335 KB To
submit a report by the Investment Manager Minutes: The Head
of Finance submitted the report’s background for information, and it was
explained that it was mandatory under the CIPFA Code of Conduct to report on
the results of the Council's actual Treasury Management on behalf of the
Pension Fund in the last financial year against the expectations. A summary of where
the pooled money had been invested during the year 2014-2015 was highlighted,
and in line with amended Welsh Assembly Government guidance on Investments, the
security and liquidity aspects had been prioritised rather than yields. It was also
explained that interest rates had been very low, but that there was no
recommendation to consider changing the decision to pool the fund's money with
the Council's general cashflow. In
response to a question regarding who provided an overview of CIPFA principles,
it was noted that Wales Audit Office checked this and the importance of
prioritising security over yields was reiterated. RESOLVED TO ACCEPT
THE REPORT FOR INFORMATION |
|
TREASURY MANAGEMENT 2015/16 - MID YEAR REVIEW PDF 307 KB To
submit a report by the Head of Finance Minutes: The Head
of Finance Department provided the introduction and background of the report
for information, explaining that it was required under the CIPFA Code of
Conduct for councils to report on the performance of the treasury management
function at least twice a year. The report highlighted the treasury’s activities together with the risk
monitor and associated risk control. In the
context of Heritable Bank investments, it was noted that the authority had now
reclaimed 98% of Heritable Bank investments with the probability of further
distributions. RESOLVED TO ACCEPT
THE REPORT FOR INFORMATION |
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KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS PDF 115 KB To
submit a report by the Investment Manager Minutes: The
Investment Manager submitted a report notifying Members of training
arrangements. Members
were reminded that the Pension Fund had adopted a Skills and Information
statement to ensure that all staff and members who were responsible for
financial administration and for making decisions in relation to the pension
scheme, had all the information and skills to undertake the responsibilities
and duties allocated to them. As a
result, the establishment would provide appropriate training for those
individuals so that they maintained a suitable level of expertise, information
and skills. It was highlighted that the Council would undertake
a training needs assessment. The intention was to present members of the Pensions Committee and the
Pension Board with a self-assessment questionnaire for them to note their
training needs. The results of the questionnaire would
highlight the training needs and the information they would require. The information
would secure appropriate training for individuals through current meetings,
specific sessions or external courses. The intention was to distribute the questionnaire after Christmas and
members were encouraged to co-operate. RESOLVED TO ACCEPT THE INFORMATION AND COMPLY
WITH THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE INFORMATION AND SKILLS POLICY |
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PROPOSAL TO IMPLEMENT AN INTEGRAL DOCUMENT IMAGING SYSTEM WITH ALTAIR PDF 228 KB To
submit a report by the Pensions Manager Minutes: The
Pensions Manager submitted a proposal for the Committee’s approval to fund the
purchase of an integrated document management system to store documents and to
respond to the retrieval requirements of a modern pension administration
office. The
original solution had been the use of the corporate EDRMS management system,
but it had been highlighted that EDRMS would not accomplish the full
requirements of the Pensions Unit as projected. In order to adapt and work efficiently to the
individual records retrieval requirements for each current and former member of
the pension scheme, it was proposed to move towards the use of Heywood's
'Altair Image' system, which was a completely integrated system with an
associated workflow system. In line
with the membership of the entire fund (which was more than 38,000 at present),
the following costs were proposed to implement and run this specialist
software. Costs for
initial licence - £58,525 together with an implementation and consultancy fee
of £20,560. Total of £79,085. It was noted that the amount was significant, but
the need for an investment in a system was recommended so that the Pensions
Unit could progress and work in a more effective manner. In
response to a question, it was noted that the funding would be released from
the administrative costs of the Pension Fund. It was difficult to cost efficiency savings,
but a saving of half a post was projected. It was also noted that it would be necessary
to become familiar with the system prior to seeing yields and therefore it was
recommended to re-assess the situation in two years' time. In
response to a question regarding whether the Pensions Unit could cope without
the software or not, it was noted that the service would exacerbate without it. RESOLVED TO APPROVE THE PROPOSAL TO FUND THE
PURCHASE OF ‘ALTAIR IMAGE’ SOFTWARE AND THE ANNUAL LICENSING FEES. The Chair
took the opportunity to thank Mr Gareth Jones, Pensions Manager, on behalf of
the Committee for his service to the Pensions Unit, and expressed well wishes
to him on his retirement following 42 years of service to the Council. The Head of Finance Department added that Mr Gareth Jones had been a very
reliable manager and a key member of the Department and the Pension Fund |
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ADMINISTRATION AUTHORITY DISCRETIONS PDF 596 KB To
submit a report by the Pensions Manager Minutes: The
Pensions Manager submitted a report requesting to review and update policies in
the context of the Local Government Pension Scheme Regulations 2014. The
information was highlighted, which listed the discretions available under the
main Pension Scheme regulations together with a list of the discretions
available under the transitional and savings provisions. It was also highlighted
that the information formalised the procedure. RESOLVED TO AGREE ON THE ADMINISTERING
AUTHORITY'S POLICIES IN LINE WITH THE RECOMMENDATION |
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ADMINISTRATION UNIT STAFFING FROM JANUARY 2016 PDF 208 KB To
submit a report by the Head of Finance Minutes: (Mr Gareth Jones and Mr Nicholas Hopkins left
the room) Submitted
- the report of the Head of Finance Department to approve funding for
resourcing a team to reconcile the Guaranteed Minimum Pensions (GMP) and to
accept a new administration unit structure - projected cost of £53,573 in the
first 12 months. At the
June 2015 Pensions Committee meeting, it had been reported that there was a
need for Gwynedd's Pension Fund to reconcile the GMP of individual members
against that held by HMRC. At that meeting, it had been agreed to fund £8,300 per annum for
appropriate software so as to start on preliminary work of comparing HMRC's
figures with the fund's data. In response to a request by the Local Government Pensions Committee, the
estimated cost of the exercise would be £200,000 based on basic research work
undertaken by other funds which had already commenced the exercise, and the
number of records that needed to be reconciled by Gwynedd. In
response to these challenging requirements of reconciling the GMP and the 2016
valuation, a request was made to the Pensions Manager (who would retire in
December), to return for two days per week to establish and supervise a team to
undertake the reconciliation work and to share his experience and expertise
with his successor. In
addition, the need for two other staff members to join the team was noted. It was reported that
the task would take at least two years to complete, with the 'Supervisor' role
ending 12 months after establishing the procedures. It was
highlighted that the timetable was tight and that there was an open opportunity
here for external consultants to take advantage of the situation as inadequate
resources were in place within authorities to complete the work. It was noted that
the Pensions Manager was willing to continue for a year and it was added that
this was a great opportunity to take advantage of individuals' experience
rather than paying more for a consultative company to undertake the work. In
response to the report, it was noted that the internal resources should be
taken advantage of, and that using expensive external consultants should be
avoided. The
recommendation was accepted as a good option and it was noted that the
situation should be reviewed in six months’ time. RESOLVED TO APPROVE THE EXPENDITURE TO FUND
STAFF RESOURCES TO RECONCILE THE GUARANTEED MINIMUM PENSION |