Agenda item

Report by the Chairman of the Pension Advisory Board.

The Board is asked to agree the performance report for 2022/23 and that the Pensions Committee and Governance Committee be informed; agree the performance information for inclusion in the pension fund annual report for 2022/23; agree the draft PAB Business Plan for 2023/24 and that the Pensions Committee be informed; and note the Pensions Committee’s Business Plan for 2023/24 and full risk matrix.

58.1     The Board received a report by the Chairman of the Pension Advisory Board (copy appended to the signed minutes).

58.2     The Chairman introduced the report and highlighted the Business Plan Performance Report for 2022/23 which included the commentary from the Annual one to one meetings between the Chairman and Board members.  The areas for attention were the same as the previous year, with the inclusion of potential pensions/cyber scams.

58.3     The Board made comments including those that follow.

·         The Board noted within the budget that no training expenses had been used, but recognised this was due to the Hymans Robertson training programme.

·         Noted that the budget allocated £1,000 towards legal fees, and queried if this was too low to be effective.  – The Chairman confirmed that the funds were allocated within the budget to demonstrate that plans could be put in place if required.  Rachel Wood agreed to take the point away and look at the processes involved and report back to the Board.  Vickie Hampshire proposed adding clarity to the Pension Advisory Board handbook.  The Chairman felt it was important for the Board to know where they could flag concerns.

58.4     Rachel Wood introduced the 2023/24 Business Plan which outlined the key activities undertaken in 2022/23, such as the Actuarial Valuation and preparations for the McCloud changes that would be implemented 2023/24.  Work had also been done to review the Investment Strategy.  Rachel Wood also explained the delay in approving the financial statements for 31 March 2022 had been linked to a national issue causing delays to the County Council’s financial statements.

58.5     For the current year it was expected that the Good Governance Consultation would be circulated and that the Pension Regulator’s single code of practice would be applied.

58.6     Vickie Hampshire introduced the full Risk Register which included an overview to cover all underlying risks.  It was confirmed that cyber was likely to continue to be a red risk in the long term to align with the County Council’s rating which reflected the risks in the cyber environment.  The risk for the Link contract was reduced as the contract end date drew nearer.

58.7     The Board made comments including those that follow.

·         Highlighted the potential requirement for additional resources for the administration and communication priorities.  – Rachel Wood explained that the work may require external resources for campaigns that run for the whole fund or individual employers.  The Board requested to be kept up to date on this work.

·         Sought clarity on the reference to ACS within the Freedom of Information request risk.  – Rachel Wood confirmed this should be ASU (for ACCESS Support Unit).

·         Questioned the proposed Cyber Security training for the year.  – Rachel Wood confirmed that this was an aspiration for the year.  Vickie Hampshire confirmed that officers were always monitoring external training options.

·         Queried dashboard training.  – Vickie Hampshire resolved to look into this.

58.8     Resolved – That the Board:

                i.    agrees the performance report for 2022/23, and that the Pensions Committee and Governance Committee be informed.

               ii.    agrees the performance information for inclusion in the pension fund annual report for 2022/23.

             iii.    agrees the draft Pension Advisory Board’s Business Plan for 2023/24 and that the Pensions Committee be informed.

             iv.   notes the Pensions Committee’s Business Plan for 2023/24 and full risk matrix.