Agenda and draft minutes

To receive any apologies for absence

Apologies were received from Ned Michael and Cllr Elin Hywel (Chair of the Pensions Committee).

To receive any declaration of personal interest

None to note

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 11^th of July 2025 be signed as a true record.

The Chair signed the minutes of the previous meeting of this committee held on 11 July 2025 as a true record.

To submit, for information, minutes of the Pensions Committee meeting held on the 15^th of September 2025

The minutes of the Pensions Committee held on 15 September 2025 were submitted for information.

To review and provide feedback on the report. 

The annual report (draft) was submitted by the Investment Manager. It was explained that the report provided details of the activities of the Pension Fund during the year ending 31 March 2025 and was completed in accordance with statutory guidance. Changes were highlighted in the requirements of the Scheme Advisory Board to identify and present the information through three categories - must, should and may. It was ensured that everything known as 'must' and 'should' had been included, unless the information was not available. As a result, it was explained that the annual report had increased in size as it included annual reports from the Board, the Pensions Committee, further information on administration statistics, and further information on pooling.

It was stated that the report was in the process of being reviewed by Audit Wales with a view to submitting it with the final accounts to the Pension Fund's annual meeting on 24 November 2025.

Gratitude was expressed for the report.

Observations arising from the ensuing discussion:

·        That the situation was healthy.

·        The team were congratulated on their good work.

·        The situation was evidence of good governance in a challenging economic climate.

·        The situation had improved significantly over the years - there was a need to try to avoid a situation of lowering and raising contributions.

·        The report was thorough and easy to read.

·        Accepted that it was not necessary to include the 'may' information category.

In response to an observation, that there were reductions for employers as a result of a valuation and if a buffer had been set, it was noted that the largest employers, given that the fund was 166% funded, had put in place a stabilisation mechanism and that other employers had an intention of doing something similar.

In response to a question that the Fund's direction was to reach a net zero target in 2050, but that the Council's Climate Strategy had set a net zero target by 2030 and why the conflict, it was noted that discussions had been held with officers, but that the Pension Fund's target was based on an in-depth analysis with a commitment to undertake reviews to try to bring the date forward. It was reiterated that 2030 was not an option for the Fund.

In response to a supplementary question as to whether there was a commitment to meet the 2050 target earlier, and if an interim target was considered, it was noted that further work was being carried out on the strategic objectives with Hymans looking at the assets to try to meet the target earlier. It was added that further adjustments would be likely following the establishment of an IMCo company that would take over the governance, advisory and value for money aspects. It was reiterated that there was no objection to the suggestion to consider an interim target as all pool members had the same attitude towards reaching the net zero target sooner.

In response to an observation that a record of the development of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

To consider the information

   An oral update was provided by Mr Anthony Deakin who had attended the conference in September 2025 on behalf of the Board. He explained that the conference gave attendees the opportunity to network, expand their knowledge and keep up with the work of the sector.

Gratitude was expressed for the information.

To consider the report

A comprehensive report was submitted by the Pensions Manager providing a general overview of pension administration over the past year, along with information on the work carried out over the period and updates on various projects:

·        Implementation of the McCloud obligation following a Supreme Court ruling.

·        Work relating to the 2025 actuarial valuation, which included holding an Employers' Forum to share valuation results with employers. It was noted that the new contributions would be formally confirmed at the end of March 2026.

·        Work relating to linking to the National Pension Dashboard ecosystem by 31/10/25.

·        Preparation of a response (on an all-Wales basis) to the UK Government's consultation on improvements to the Local Government Pension Scheme which would modernise the scheme, improve fairness and strengthen long-term member protections.

·        That work to ensure that the Gwynedd Pension Fund had met statutory requirements by issuing Annual Statements of Benefits had been completed at the end of July (before the closing date). Reference was also made to a presentation/avatar on the My Pension On-line portal which supported members to better understand the statements.

·        That data quality remained a priority for the Fund and ongoing developments were being implemented to further improve the quality. Reference was made to an example where the Fund was working with a professional tracing service to try and find the contact details of family members who had passed away or appeared to be a 'gone away address'.

·        Communication with members also remained a priority – a circular had been distributed with the 2025 Annual Statements of Benefits. It was noted that work was ongoing to redesign the Fund's website.

·        It was explained that as a result of internal changes being implemented to tasks where comprehensive performance data was not available, the Fund was providing assurances that there was no indication that service performance was deteriorating, but that the information was intended to be submitted when the revised procedures had been completed.

·        Work continued to ensure policies and compliance were in place in response to the requirements of Good Governance.

Reference was made to the continued success of 'My Pension On-line' noting that the portal's membership continued to grow steadily from month to month. It was reported that the Gwynedd Pension Fund had played a key role in supporting Heywood to develop a Welsh language version and that this version was to be rolled out to all Welsh LGPS funds by the end of the year.

Attention was drawn to the Service Satisfaction Survey which was sent to Members at the end of key processes, such as retirements and reimbursement payments, to gather views on the quality of service received. It was reported that 58 members had taken part in the survey between April 2025 and September 2025 with the result being very encouraging (95.13% of users strongly agreed or agreed that the quality was of a high standard and 97.26% strongly agreed or agreed that staff performance met a high standard).

Gratitude was expressed for the report.

During the ensuing  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

To consider the report and provide feedback or endorsement where appropriate.

A report was submitted by the Pensions Manager detailing the key types of data held by the Fund highlighting the importance of data accuracy and clear and structured approaches to improving data quality. The Fund's data enhancement objectives were highlighted as well as the types of data that needed to be completed to protect Members' rights, to support operational efficiency and strengthen trust in the Fund's governance.

It was highlighted that there were two categories of data – common data and scheme-specific data, with targeting actions and approaches put in place for improving the quality of both categories. Attention was drawn to the use of the professional Tracing Service to try to reduce instances of the number appearing as 'moved' or outdated contact information in the common data category. It was reported that the service, although costly, had delivered good results so far and that the number of cases was decreasing.

It was considered that by following the Data Improvement Plan, the Fund would aim to significantly improve the data, ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements and improving the overall experiences of Members and employers.

Gratitude was expressed for the information.

In response to a comment that the Fund relied on Members to update their contact details and how the administration unit could do this using AI (artificial intelligence), and whether there were examples that could be trialled, it was noted that no consideration had been given to this and the one example of potential use was letters. In response to a supplementary question regarding an increase in the use of AI and whether the Fund had a specific policy, it was noted that Cyngor Gwynedd had an AI policy but that the Fund did not currently have a specific policy.

RESOLVED to accept and note the information.