This meeting of the Islington Council Pensions Board was scheduled to discuss a range of matters relating to the administration, performance, and governance of the Islington Pension Fund. The agenda included presentations on topics including the Fund's investments, administration, risk register and draft statement of accounts.

Performance of the Pension Fund’s Investments

The Board was scheduled to receive a report on the Islington Pension Fund's investment performance for the first quarter of 2024. The report (PENsctteeJuly24PERFORMANCEv1) contained information about the performance of the individual fund managers, as well as the overall performance of the Fund. The Board was also scheduled to receive a presentation by Apex, the Fund's independent investment advisors, which would cover the performance of individual fund managers in greater depth (Appendix 1-Apex Islington Q1 2024).

Pension Fund Accounts

The report pack included a draft of the Pension Fund Accounts for 2023/24 (Appendix 1- 2023-24 Pension Fund Statementsv1may24). These set out the financial position of the Fund, and the report pack invited the Board to review and comment on the draft.

Pensions Administration Performance

The Board was scheduled to receive a report on the activities and performance of the Pensions Administration department (PenBoardAdminRepJul24v2pc). The report showed that the Pension Administration team had completed 2,993 key processes during the 2023/24 financial year, of which 84% were completed within the target time. The report identified the McCloud Remedy¹ and the Pensions Dashboard² as two national projects that had had an impact on the team's performance.

Pension Administration KPIs

The Board was scheduled to discuss a report comparing Islington Pension Fund's Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) with those of three other London Boroughs: Haringey, Enfield and Westminster (LBI PenBoard Pensions KPI Review 2024v3). The report showed that Islington's target times for processing some types of cases are significantly shorter than those of the other boroughs. The report recommended that the Board update the Fund's KPIs to align more closely with those of the other boroughs.

Risk Register

The report pack included the latest update of the Islington Pension Fund's risk register (Appendix1- Pension Risk Register Apr24). This outlined potential risks to the Fund, and provided information about how the Fund manages these risks. One of the key risks to the fund is described as:

Risk – Loss of investment returns

The Council has delegated the investment arrangements of the scheme to the Pensions Committee who decide on the investment policy most suitable to meet the liabilities of the Scheme and the ultimate responsibility for the investment policy that lies with it (LBI PenBoard Pensions Risk Register April2024 MH).

The report pack invited the Board to note the contents of the risk register.

Pensions Board Forward Work Programme

The report pack included a draft forward work programme for the Board, covering July 2024 to June 2025 (pensionboard forwardprogramJuly24v1). This set out the key areas that the Board planned to focus on during the next year, and invited the Board to note its contents. The report pack drew the Board's attention to the requirement to comply with relevant legislation and regulations. It also suggested that the Board should focus on topics such as:

a) Its own training, knowledge and understanding

b) Avoiding any conflicts of interest

c) Ensuring its own statutory compliance

[...]

l) Employer and member communications

m) Complaints and dispute resolution

n) Reporting regulatory breaches (pensionboard forwardprogramJuly24v1).

The report pack also mentioned the forthcoming annual general meeting of the Pension Fund, scheduled for 30 September 2024 at the Islington Assembly Hall.