Agenda and minutes

Venue: Paralympic Room, The Gateway, Gatehouse Road, Aylesbury

Contact: Anne-Marie Kenward 

Items
No. Item

1.

Apologies for Absence / Changes in Membership

Minutes:

There were no apologies for absence recorded.

 

2.

Declarations of Interest

Minutes:

There were none.

 

3.

Minutes of the last meeting pdf icon PDF 424 KB

To agree the minutes of the Pension Fund Committee meeting held 9 September 2021.

Minutes:

RESOLVED

Members of the Committee AGREED the minutes of the meeting held 9 September 2021 as an accurate record. 

 

4.

Minutes of the last meeting of the Pension Fund Board

Minutes:

The minutes of the Pension Fund Board held 6 October 2021 would be circulated after the meeting for Committee Members to note.

 

5.

Breaches of the Law pdf icon PDF 562 KB

To be presented by Claire Lewis-Smith, Pensions Administration Manager.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

C Lewis-Smith, Pensions Administration Manager, Buckinghamshire Council, referred to the papers circulated with the agenda.

 

There had been no changes to the Procedure for Reporting Breaches of the Law (appendix 1). Breaches for the year were recorded under appendix 2.

The 4 breaches were discussed:

 

1.      Employee contributions not returned within 5 years of members leaving the

fund. It was noted that recording this as a breach could be seen as unfair as

there was little action that could be taken if a member does not claim the refund. There was an outstanding request to have the 5 year limit removed from the Regulations however the decision was expected to be delayed by the change of local government department from the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC).

2.      Annual statements issued within statutory deadlines. All figures below 100%

counted as a breach. Members of the Committee were happy with the achieved figure of 98.14%.

3.      AVC Fund options not provided to fund members by AVC provider

within designated timeframes. This was a national issue and officers

continued to work with the provider and LGA who have raised this as a

concern on behalf of all Funds.

4.      Late payment of employees /employer’s contributions. Officers chased all

payments not received by 20th of the month.

 

A member of the committee asked how often was there a review of the AVC provider as there was a concern relating to the breach. C Lewis Smith confirmed a review of the AVC provider was on the work plan and confirmed the provider was popular and usually performed well.

 

A member of the committee requested this review would be brought forward and advised a salary sacrifice option would be more favoured. The Chairman confirmed there was a report being circulated relating to salary sacrifice however, this had not been agreed yet by the Council. The status of the report would be investigated. Action Chairman T Butcher

 

6.

Annual Accounts Audit 2020/21 pdf icon PDF 565 KB

To be presented by Rachael Martinig, Pensions & Investment Accountant, Buckinghamshire Council.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

R Martinig, Pensions & Investment Accountant, Buckinghamshire Council (BC) advised the committee there were no changes to the accounts. It was highlighted that the accounts could not be signed off until the overall Buckinghamshire Council accounts were signed which had been delayed until January 2022.

 

RESOLVED

Members of the committee NOTED the accounts update.

7.

Forward Plan pdf icon PDF 88 KB

To be presented by Julie Edwards, Head of Pensions, Buckinghamshire Council.

Minutes:

J Edwards, Head of Pensions, Buckinghamshire Council, referred to the document circulated with the agenda.

 

A member of the committee proposed that it may be useful to have a formal plan for total divestment from fossil fuel.

 

RESOLVED

Members of the committee NOTED the update.

8.

Exclusion of the Press and Public

To resolve to exclude the press and public as the following item is exempt by virtue of Paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12a of the Local Government Act 1972 because it contains information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information)

Minutes:

RESOLVED

To exclude the press and public as the following items are exempt by virtue of Paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12a of the Local Government Act 1972 because they contain information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information).

9.

Confidential minutes of the last meeting

To agree the confidential minutes of the meeting held 9 September 2021.

10.

Buckinghamshire Pension Board Confidential Minutes

To note the confidential minutes of the last Pension Fund Board meeting held 6 October 2021.

11.

Pension Fund Performance

To be presented by Julie Edwards, Head of Pensions, Buckinghamshire Council.

12.

Taskforce for Climate Related Financial Disclosures

To be presented by Mercer.

13.

Assessment of Value (AoV)

To be presented by Mercer.

14.

Brunel Pension Partnership Update - Private Markets

To be presented by Brunel Pension Partnership.

15.

Date of the next meeting

Minutes:

To be agreed and circulated.