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Contact: Lowri Haf Evans 01286 679 878 Email: lowrihafevans@gwynedd.gov.uk
No. | Item |
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ELECT CHAIRMAN To elect a
Chairman for 2015/16 Minutes: Resolved to re-elect
Councillor Tudor Owen as Chairman of the committee for 2015/16. |
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ELECT VICE-CHAIRMAN To elect a
Vice-chairman for 2015/16 Minutes: Resolved to elect Councillor Stephen Churchman as Vice chairman
of the committee for
2015/16. |
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APOLOGIES To receive
any apologies for absence Minutes: Apologies were
received from Councillors Margaret Lyon (Conwy County Borough Council
Representative) and Peter Read. |
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DECLARATION OF PERSONAL INTEREST To receive
any declaration of personal interest Minutes: No declarations of personal interest were received from
any members present |
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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: Update on
establishing Gwynedd Council Pension Board. (a)
Following the interview process, it was reported that six members had been appointed
for the Pension Board: Anthony
William Deakin (Cartrefi Conwy), Victoria Louise Hallaron (Cartrefi Cymunedol Gwynedd), Osian Richards
(Gwynedd Council), Huw Trainor (North Wales Police), Sharon Warnes
(retired - formerly Gwynedd Council) and the nomination of one elected member
of Gwynedd Council would be confirmed soon. The inaugural
meeting of the Pension Board would be held on 13 July, 2015. It would be the
responsibility of the Pension Board to assist the administrative authority to
ensure compliance with all relevant regulations, other legislation and
requirements which were relevant to the scheme. The Board would also assist the authority to
ensure effective and efficient governance and administration of the fund. (b)
In response to a question, it was
noted that members of the Pension Board would
include three representatives of the employers and three representatives of
members of the scheme |
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The
Chairman shall propose that the minutes of the meeting of this committee held
on 24 March 2015 to be signed as a true record Minutes: The Chairman signed
the minutes of the previous meeting of this committee, held on 24 March 2015,
as a true record. |
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INVESTMENT PANEL MEETINGS PDF 54 KB To submit a
report by the Head of Finance Minutes: (a)
Submitted – the report of the Head of Finance
Department proposing a change in the arrangements of meetings of the Investment
Panel. Since February 2014, it was noted that the
meetings of February and May were held in London and the meetings of July and
November were held in Caernarfon. Based on the trial period, it was highlighted that holding the meetings
of February and May in London was ill-timed for the officers because of
pressure of work during this time with the Financial Strategy / Budget in
February and closure of the Council accounts and Pension Fund in May. It was
suggested that it would make more sense to arrange the meetings of February and
May in Caernarfon and the meetings of July and November in London. (b) The
recommendation to accept the report was proposed and seconded. (c) In
response to an observation, it was noted that it was intended to commence the
new arrangement in November 2015 and to continue with the annual cycle until it
was reported differently. RESOLVED TO ACCEPT THE REPORT OF THE HEAD OF
FINANCE DEPARTMENT |
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RECONCILING MEMBERS' GUARANTEED MINIMUM PENSIONS (GMP) PDF 80 KB To submit a report by the Pensions Manager Minutes: (a)
Submitted – the report of the Pensions
Manager, providing information and seeking support to fund additional
specialist software to assist with the new work processes. The
background to the request was elaborated upon and it was noted that there would
be changes to the administrative arrangements and responsibility for Guaranteed
Minimum Pensions. It was noted that a substantial number of members of the
Gwynedd Pension Fund continued to be the subject of GMP assessments for annual
pension increases or as part of transfer calculations. These assessments would
have to be implemented and this minimum reconciled before March 2018. (b)
Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs was responsible
for calculating and informing schemes of GMP levels but it was proposed to
transfer the responsibility to schemes by March 2018. Prior to the transfer,
the GMP would have to be reconciled to ensure that all the GMP they had
corresponded to the HMRC records. It was noted that national surveys showed
that the levels of errors/inconsistencies were high, which meant a large amount
of complicated additional work for high-level staff to implement. The
costs were estimated at £300k (staff and resources). There would be a need for
a team of staff to commence the work during the spring of 2016. (c)
Members were asked to, ·
note the process of reconciling the GMP, the
likely cost and its effect on the resources of the pensions unit. ·
agree retrospectively to fund the additional
software at a cost of approximately £8,300 per whole or part year. ·
note that update reports would be submitted to the
Committee on the ongoing work from time to time and that may include a request
for funding temporary staff and a request for decisions on error tolerances and
write off levels. (ch) It was proposed to approve in accordance
with the recommendation and this was
seconded. RESOLVED TO ACCEPT
THE REPORT AND THE RECOMMENDATIONS LISTED BY THE PENSIONS MANAGER The meeting commenced at 2pm and concluded at
2.30pm |