The Pensions Board of Hackney Council met to review the work undertaken by the Pensions Committee, receive an update on projects and work being carried out by the Pensions Team, and discuss training updates. The Board also considered exempt papers in a closed session.

Review of Pensions Committee Work

The Board was asked to note the work undertaken by the Pensions Committee in its meetings held on:

• 9 July 2024.
• 30 July 2024.

The key item highlighted from the July meetings was the Exit Credit Policy, which had been presented to the Pensions Committee. The Committee had also:

• Taken questions from Hackney Unison.¹
• Heard deputations from the Hackney Palestinian Solidarity Campaign and Hackney Friends of Israel.

The Board was also asked to note the quarterly update report and high level monitoring report.

Key to the role of the Board is ensuring that the Fund is being administered in accordance with the regulations and both the quarterly report and the high level monitoring report help to demonstrate that the Committee receives regular updates on a number of issues covered by statute. Of particular relevance to the Board are the sections on governance, administration performance and communications, the risk register and reporting breaches.

— 5. PB September 2024 - Review of Pensions Committee Work Public Papers

Projects and Work Updates

The Board was asked to note an update on the following specific projects:

Recruitment and Resourcing

Following the departure of the previous postholder, Michael Honeysett had been appointed as Interim Head of Pensions. Miriam Adams was due to be starting as permanent Head of Pensions on 16 September 2024. Michael Honeysett was to remain to work on:

• The migration of the pensions administration function to a new shared service provider.
• Further development of the Funds Responsible Investment Initiatives.

Pensions Dashboards

The Pensions Dashboard is an online service that will allow people to see all of their pension pots in one place. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has set a deadline of 31 October 2025 for public service pension schemes like the Hackney Pension Fund to connect to the dashboard.

Officers were due to discuss the implications of connecting to the dashboard with both the Fund's current administrators, Equiniti², and its intended new administrators. They were then to decide whether to inform the Pensions Regulator that the Fund will not be in a position to connect to the Dashboard by the deadline.

Business Planning

The Board was asked to note that a project had begun to update the Pension Fund's three-year Business Plan. The intention was to present a draft updated plan to the Pensions Committee in November.

The project would involve:

• Reviewing the existing plan with the Fund’s Governance Advisers, Hymans Robertson³.
• Holding a full day workshop with officers, advisors and the Chair/Vice Chair of the Pensions Committee.
• Developing an updated business plan including governance arrangements, reporting and resourcing requirements.

TPR General Code

The Pensions Regulator (TPR) introduced a new General Code of Practice for Pension Funds earlier in 2024. The Board was asked to note that a project was underway to assess the Fund's compliance with the code. The project was to culminate in a report to the Pensions Committee and Board, along with actions to address any weaknesses and training for members on the code and their role.

Stewardship Code

The Board was asked to note that the Fund was working on a submission to the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) to become a signatory of the UK Stewardship Code. The Stewardship Code is a set of principles for asset owners and asset managers. It aims to enhance the quality of engagement between investors and companies to help improve long-term risk-adjusted returns to beneficiaries.

Annual Benefit Statements (ABS)

The Board was informed that the deadline for providing Annual Benefit Statements to members was unlikely to be met due to a technical issue. The issue had been identified and resolved, and the statements were due to be sent to members by 12 September. Officers were to report the breach to the Pensions Regulator.