Agenda and minutes

To elect chair for 2018/19

RESOLVED to re-elect Tony Deakin as Chair for 2018/19

To elect a Vice Chair for 2018/19

RESOLVED to re-elect Osian Richards as Vice-chair for 2018/19

To receive any apologies for absence

Apologies were received from Councillor Aled Evans (Gwynedd Council)

To receive any declaration of personal interest

No declarations of personal interest were received from any members present.

To note any items which are urgent business in the opinion of the Chairman so that they may be considered

None to note

The Chairman shall propose that the minutes of the meeting of this committee  held on 12^th of April 2018 be signed as a true record.

The Chair signed the minutes of the meeting of this committee, held on 12 April 2018, as a true record.

It was confirmed that ‘matters arising’ from the minutes would not be discussed at the meeting following an explanation regarding committee procedures. If an update regarding any matter was required, it had to be ensured that it was included on the meeting agenda.

To submit, for information, minutes of the Pensions Committee meeting held on the 19^th of June 2018

The minutes of the Pensions Committee held on 19 June 2018 were accepted for information.

It was noted that the main items of the Pensions Committee were on the agenda of this Pension Board meeting.

To give the Board an opportunity to comment on the Statement of Pension Fund Account

(Background papers previously distributed)

It was noted that the Members, along with Members of the Pensions Committee had attended an informal session arranged by the Head of Finance Department to discuss the Pension Board's accounts.

The Members gave thanks for the timely presentation on the pre-audit accounts, and it was noted that there would be some amendments before the final version would be submitted, post-audit to the Fund’s annual general meeting on 10 October 2018.

To consider the draft report

Submitted - a draft report to seek the observations of members about its content for the Pension Fund's annual report. It was highlighted that the format was simple and the Senior Communications Officer was thanked for his guidance.

The following observations were received by members:

·           There was a wish for the report to be more dynamic

·           The Board's contribution and additional value needed to be highlighted

·           The Board's successes needed to be included along with the recommendations submitted to the Committee, e.g., that there was a need to introduce a penalty system for employers who sent data in late, and the Board's contribution to the risk assessment

·           Challenging words needed to be used to reflect that the Board was not only receiving updates.

It was reported that the final report would be circulated to the Chair.

To consider the Pension Manager and Senior Communication Officers Report

A comprehensive report was submitted providing a general overview of pension administration over the last six months as well as information on the work that had been accomplished over the period, an update on various projects, changes in regulations and a list of challenges that the department faced from day to day.

During the ensuing discussion, the following main observations were noted:

·       End of year contributions - it was reported that every employer now had a responsibility to sign the data before submission

·      Three employers so far had not complied with the closing date

·      Penalty arrangements needed to be introduced if some users continued to create additional work. It was considered that this was an item for the Committee to consider.

·      Excellent developments had been implemented in the context of self-service registration

·      Prudential and Scottish Widows were now refusing new clients in order to hold an additional voluntary contributions review, and therefore, the fund would continue to use Clerical Medical.

·      Under the 'staffing' heading, the Board was eager to understand and, if appropriate, to support the case for resources to restructure.

·      Having received information about the department's performance and the comparison in main tasks that were acted upon, it was highlighted that there was a need to continue to review the situation ensuring that performance was good. However, it was suggested that it would be beneficial to receive information about the other duties which were additional to the core tasks.

·      A guide for employers was being prepared and it would be available for electronic distribution to all bodies

·      The website was continuing to be updated

·      It was intended to submit an update every six months

The officers were thanked for the detailed update.

The information was accepted.

To consider the report of the Head of Finance

Submitted, for information, a report by the Head of Finance Department noting pension meeting dates for the year 2018 / 2019, so that members could note the dates in their diaries and plan ahead accordingly.

It was noted that the LGPS Governance Conference would be held in Bristol on 17-18 January 2019, which conflicted with a meeting of the Pensions Committee. It was proposed to change the date of the Pensions Committee to 21 January 2019, so that Members and Officers could attend the conference. Attention was drawn to this as a member of the Pension Board attended the Committee's meetings as an observer.

It was reported that a meeting of the Wales Pension Partnership Joint Committee would be held at Council offices, Caernarfon on 25 September. It was reiterated that the meeting was public and that members would have the opportunity this time to attend locally, or to listen to the webcast as usual.

RESOLVED to accept the information subject to amending the date of the Pensions Committee meeting in January 2019.

To consider the report of the Head of Finance

Information was submitted about relevant conferences in order to choose representatives to attend them. It was reported that the Council sent representatives on a rota basis to a number of conferences during the year, in order to maintain and improve skills and knowledge.

RESOLVED to send the following representatives to the conferences:

·         CIPFA half day seminars

Osian Richards to attend the meeting in Cardiff (10.10.18)

Huw Trainor and H. Eifion Jones to attend the meeting in Liverpool (12.10.18)

·         Local Authority Pension Fund Forum (LAPFF) annual conference, Bournemouth, December 2018

H. Eifion Jones to attend

·         LGPS Governance Conference, Bristol, January 2019  

 Tony Deakin and Sharon Warnes to attend

To receive an oral review of the Conference

Feedback was received from H. Eifion Jones who had attended the conference on behalf of the Pension Board.

He noted the following points:

·           The good relationship between the Committee, the Board and officers that existed in Gwynedd was not as good in several other funds. It appeared that there was conflict between the committee and the board in some funds, with some pension board members feeling excluded.

·           There were pooling arrangements in different forms and with different development steps throughout the United Kingdom, and some pension board members in England recognised the valuable and appropriate progress made by the Wales Partnership.

·           A lengthy discussion had been held on whether Boards should be part of the system to govern the arrangements. It was reported that no specific conclusion had been reached, although the 'observation role' had been suggested by some.

·           Random visits by the Pensions Regulator would be in the pipeline this year.

·           The Chair of the CIPFA pension boards forum had submitted an item on insurance, and that a lengthy discussion had been held after the presentation, with different opinions being shared.

In response to the observations above, it was noted that the Wales Pension Partnership was in a strong position. With respect to the Board's function, it was highlighted that establishing a Regional Board had been considered, but that the legislation was inflexible. As a result, it was expressed that local Boards had an independent role to scrutinise the Partnership's work but that care was needed to avoid duplication and meaningless discussions.

In response to an observation about insurance, it was noted that a competitive quote had been found for Gwynedd Pension Board members, and it was suggested that it would be fair to arrange this pension indemnity, which would provide reassurance and a similar indemnity to what was provided for elected members of local authorities. Members welcomed the proposal, although some expressed concern about the cost. It was agreed to look into incorporating it into the general policy on renewing this.

RESOLVED to ask the Head of Finance Department to act on procuring insurance indemnity for Gwynedd Pension Board members.

The Chairman shall propose that the press and public be excluded from the meeting during the discussion on the following item due to the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraph 14 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government act 1972 Information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information).

There is an acknowledged public interest in openness in relation to the use of public resources and related financial issues. It is also acknowledged that there are occasions, in order to protect the financial interests of public authorities that matters related to commercial information need to be discussed without being publicised. Publication of such information in relation to investment intentions and selection of proposed investment companies could have a negative impact on commercially sensitive activities.  This would be contrary to the wider public interest of securing value for money and the best overall outcome and for those reasons the matter should be exempt in the public interest.

RESOLVED to exclude the press and public from the meeting during the discussion on the following item due to the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraph 14, Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972 - Information about the financial or business transactions of any specific person (including the authority that retains that information).

There is an acknowledged public interest in openness in relation to the use of public resources and related financial issues. It is also acknowledged that there are occasions, in order to protect the financial interests of public authorities that matters related to commercial information need to be discussed without being publicised.  Publication of such information in relation to investment intentions and selection of proposed investment companies could have a negative impact on commercially sensitive activities.  This would be contrary to the wider public interest of securing value for money and the best overall outcome. For these reasons, the matter was closed for the public interest.

To consider the report of the Head of Finance

(Copies for Board members only)

Submitted - a report by the Head of Finance Department to the Pensions Committee on 19 June asking for the right to act, in consultation with the Committee Chair, on allocating assets to the Wales Pension Partnership’s global equity funds.

It was noted that regular updates had been submitted to the Committee and the Pension Board on the progress of the Wales Pension Partnership (WPP) in setting up a joint-investment fund, in accordance with the requirements of Westminster. It was explained that the aims of the Government were improved investment outcomes, reduced risk and reduced costs, whilst enabling each constituent authority to implement its own investment strategy.

Following advice from the WPP Executive, and to demonstrate the scale of the pooling to the Government, 'actively managed global equity' was chosen as the type of assets for the initial funds.

It was noted that 'Link Asset Services' and 'Russell Investments' had given a presentation to Committee members and members of the Gwynedd Board on 15 March, and informal meetings had been held with members of the Pensions Committee on 30 April and 17 May, and an investment consultant from Hymans Robertson had also been present on 17 May where expert advice was received on the matter.

During the ensuing discussion, the following main observations were noted:

·         The proposal paper outlined the proposal effectively

·         Economies of scale enabled dispersion across a number of Managers

·         It would be interesting to find out how much was saved in fees and how it compared with the set-up costs

In response to a question regarding the ability to compare the returns of both portfolios, it was confirmed that there was an intention to submit a report with the information when the time was right.

RESOLVED to accept the information.