Agenda and minutes

Venue: Committee Room Two, County Offices, Newland, Lincoln LN1 1YL

Contact: Andrea Brown  Democratic Services Officer

Items
No. Item

21.

Apologies for Absence

Minutes:

Apologies for absence were received from Mr R Buttery, Chairman.


RESOLVED

          That Mr D Vickers, Scheme Member Representative, take the Chair for this meeting only.

22.

Declarations of Members' Interests

Minutes:

Mr D Vickers highlighted a potential interest due to an ongoing issue between Mouchel Pension Scheme, of which is a Trustee, and the Lincolnshire Pension Fund which was administered by West Yorkshire Pension Fund.  Although not relevant to any item on the agenda, the Board was asked to note the potential conflict of interest during consideration of future items.

 

Councillor M A Whittington declared that his wife was in receipt of a pension from the Fund.


There were no other declarations of interest at this point of the proceedings.

23.

Minutes of the previous meeting of the LGPS Local Pension Board held on 18 October 2017 pdf icon PDF 159 KB

Minutes:

RESOLVED

 

          That the minutes of the previous meeting of the LGPS Local Pension Board held on 18 October 2017 be agreed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

24.

Employer issue - LCC Improvement Plan pdf icon PDF 74 KB

(To receive a report by Jo Ray, Pension Fund Manager, which gives an overview of the issues between the employer in the Fund (LCC) providing the necessary information to the Fund's administrator (WYPF) and invites LCC to give the Board a presentation on how these issues were being addressed)

Minutes:

Consideration was given to a report from Jo Ray (Pension Fund Manager) which gave an overview of the issues between the employer in the Fund (LCC) and the provision of necessary information to the Fund's administrator, West Yorkshire Pension Fund (WYPF).

 

Jo Ray (Pension Fund Manager) introduced the report and explained that it had been reported at the last meeting that the Fund's largest employer, LCC, had developed a backlog in providing detailed leaver information to the Fund's administrator.  The Board requested that the Pension Fund Manager meet with all parties (LCC, Serco, WYPF and the Fund) to discuss the issue in detail.

 

It was confirmed that this meeting had been held in November where it was agreed that Serco would work with WYPF to ensure that current leavers were dealt with correctly at the point of leaving and develop an improvement plan to address the backlog.  LCC also agreed to improve the monitoring process of the situation and to provide update reports on a monthly basis once the improvement plan had been implemented.

 

This issue had been logged on the breaches register but not, at this stage, reported to the Pensions Regulator on the understanding that an improvement plan would be implemented.

 

The Chairman welcomed Vicki Sharpe from LCC and Debbie Eldridge and Graham Morgan from Serco to the meeting and invited them to provide assurance that the situation was improving and that LCC were monitoring performance across all areas of the payroll contract to ensure that the statutory responsibilities of the employer were being met.

 

Debbie Eldridge confirmed that Serco had handled the backlog as an emergency, employing an additional member of staff to oversee the completion of the process.  It was reported that this work was now on track to deliver to the plan agreed, with more than 200 forms submitted to WYPF last week.  It was also advised that this work was an area of priority and that the problems had stemmed from the implementation of the Agresso system in 2015 and its reported inability to produce the complex data required.  It was explained that changes were often necessary due to the problems with the system which started in 2015 although it was expected that the issues encountered 2015, 2016 and 2017 would be resolved by April 2018. 

 

Vicki Sharpe reported that these issues formed part of the overall payroll and data issues which had been included on the Council's Risk Register and were being discussed at the highest level of the Council.  Pete Moore, Executive Director of Finance and Public Protection, was the Scheme Manager for this work.  A Project Governance and Assurance Board had also been established to ensure that all relevant managers were working towards the resolution of these issues. 

 

Yunus Gajra (Business Development Manager, WYPF) confirmed that information had been received from the payroll provider but that the quality of this information had been questionable. It was reported that WYPF had no confidence in the quality of data being presented.

 

During discussion,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 24.

25.

Pensions Administration Report pdf icon PDF 142 KB

(To receive a report by Yunus Gajra, Business Development Manager, for West Yorkshire Pension Fund (WYPF), which provides a quarterly update on current administration issues)

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Chair of the Board welcomed Yunus Gajra (Business Development Manager, West Yorkshire Pension Fund) to the meeting and invited him to introduce the report which provided a quarterly update on current administration issues.

 

Mr Gajra introduced the report and highlighted the following areas to note:-

·       Members were asked to note that there was an error on Page 18 of the agenda pack.  "Number of Employers in WYPF" should read "total number of employers in LPF";

·       It was confirmed that the LGPC Secretariat had received a Counsel's conclusion that assistant coroners were now eligible for membership of the scheme;

·       A legal opinion had been circulated by the LGPC Secretariat in relation to the implications of the EU's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) for the LGPS;

·       Work was also underway at a national level by the communications working group to produce a number of sample documents for LGPS administering authorities to make use of in their preparations for GDPR;

·       The Government intended to bring forward measures to restrict the likelihood of pensions scams occurring which included the introduction of a cold calling ban;

·       The cost of £13.62 per member for 2017/18 had been used to recharge LPF for this year.  The cost target for shared service pension admin was to maintain a cost target of £17 per member and the projected cost for 2018/19 pension admin shared services was estimated at £15.05, therefore below target.

 

A presentation was given which provided an update on General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and covered the following areas:-

·       Example data map;

·       Where is data stored?

·       Who is processing our data?

·       What personal data is held?

·       What is data being used for?

·       Who are the data subjects?

·       Who is data shared with and how?

·       How long is the data kept?

·       Record of Processing Activities;

·       Is data secure?

·       Summary of tips; and

·       Data map with risks.

 

The Board was invited to ask questions, during which the following points were noted:-

·       It was confirmed that historical records held on microfiche were held securely at County Offices although a decision would be required on necessity of keeping these indefinitely; and

·       The Board was assured that both WYPF and LPF were working towards being compliant with the new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and anything which specifically related to Lincolnshire would be notified to the Pension Fund Manager.

 

RESOLVED

 

          That the report be noted.

26.

Pension Fund Update Report pdf icon PDF 126 KB

(To receive a report by Jo Ray, Pension Fund Manager, which provides an update on Pension Fund matters including any current issues)

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Consideration was given to a report by Jo Ray (Pension Fund Manager) which provided an update on Pension Fund matters and included current issues.

 

The latest engagement report of the Local Authority Pension Fund Forum (LAPFF) could be found on their website at www.lapfforum.org.

 

The Pension Fund Manager continued by referring to the TPR Checklist Dashboard and confirmed that there had been no changes since the last update report.  However, the report noted that H5 & H6 (Maintaining Contributions) were 'grey' as these contributions were provided directly by Prudential with no Pension Fund involvement.  The Prudential had addressed the Pensions Committee on 11 January 2018 and advised that they would provide a certificate proving that all AVC certificates had been issued within the required timescale.  Once that certificate had been received, these indicators would then change to green.

 

In relation to the Risk Register, the Board noted that Risk 24 – UK Leaving the EU – remained red due to the uncertainty surrounding Brexit.  Risk 28 – opting up to professional investor status under MIFIDII requirements – had moved from red to green since the last meeting.  Risk 22 – resourcing issues within the LCC team – has moved from red to blue since the last meeting, following the appointment of an Accounting, Investment and Governance Manager.  However, this would not turn green until a six month phased transition into the team had been completed.

 

Two additional breaches had been added to the breaches report, Late Payment of Contributions and Late Receipt of Member Information.  As previously reported, both of these issues were being addressed by all parties concerned.

 

During discussion, the following points were noted:-

·       It was explained that information from schools and academies in relation to 'Late Payment of Contributions' and 'Late Receipt of Member Information' was occasionally inaccurate as the cash did not match the data.  There was a requirement for all of this information to be received on time and if late on three occasions fines were issued unless extenuating circumstances were agreed;

·       The Board was advised that the BCPP had secured an office in Leeds city centre, close to the railway station; and

·       The results of The Pensions Regulator Annual Governance Survey would be presented to the Board once received.

 

RESOLVED

 

          That the report be noted.

27.

Pension Board Training pdf icon PDF 67 KB

(To receive a report by Jo Ray, Pension Fund Manager, which invites the Board to consider training opportunities or requires to assist them in maintaining the knowledge and skills required to undertaken their duties)

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Consideration was given to a report by Jo Ray (Pension Fund Manager) which provided an opportunity for the Board to consider potential training opportunities to assist them in maintaining the knowledge and skills required to undertake their duties.

 

Following the last meeting, Board members had requested further information on the main funds detailed within the top holdings and matters relating to financial markets and Products Knowledge, Procurement and Relationship Management from the Knowledge and Skills Framework.  These areas would be covered at Minute No. 28.

 

In September 2017, the Pension Regulator (TPR) formally launched a campaign on 21st Century Trusteeship which could be found on its website at http://www.thepensionsregulator.gov.uk/21st-century-trusteeship.aspx .  The overall programme had been divided into three themes:-

·       Good governance;

·       Clear roles and responsibilities; and

·       Clear purpose and strategy.

 

It was explained that TPR were not creating new or higher standards of governance but instead making clearer what they thought good governance should look like and the potential consequences should these standards not be met.

 

Members were encouraged to log anything on their training records which they had done or attended to assist them with their role on the Board.  It was confirmed that this could include attendance at conferences or pensions meetings as these would also provide insight into the current position of pensions.

 

The Pension Fund Manager advised the Board that a training session had been arranged, along with Pensions Committee members, for 22 March 2018.  The topic of this session had not yet been decided.

 

RESOLVED

 

          That the report be noted.

28.

Annual Report and Accounts - Additional Information pdf icon PDF 143 KB

(To receive a report by Jo Ray, Pension Fund Manager, which introduces a presentation providing additional details and explanation on areas of the Pension Fund Annual Report and Account, as requested by the Board)

Minutes:

Due to the time taken by the Board to fully consider 'Employer issue – LCC Improvement Plan' and in addition to the absence of the Chairman, it was suggested that this item be deferred and considered at the additional meeting on 27 February 2018.

 

RESOLVED

 

          That this item be deferred to the meeting on Tuesday 27 February 2018 at 2.00pm.

29.

Work Programme

(This item provides an opportunity for the Board to agree the business for consideration at forthcoming meetings)

Minutes:

Following discussion, the Board was asked to advise the Pension Fund Manager of any areas, in addition to the standard items, they would wish to consider at future meetings.

 

The Board also agreed to schedule an additional meeting on Tuesday 27 February 2018 to consider the following items :-

·       Employer issue – LCC Improvement Plan Update; and

·       Annual Report and Accounts – Additional Information

 

RESOLVED

 

          That an additional meeting of the LGPS Pension Board be arranged for Tuesday 27 February 2018 at 2.00pm.

 

 
 
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