The minutes of the previous meeting held on the 6th of December 2023 were confirmed. The Board noted the Pension Administration performance data, the Pension Fund's performance data, and a report on the risks to the Fund. A vote of thanks was recorded for the work of former Councillor Dave Poyser as Chair of the Pensions Board.

Pension Administration Performance

The Board noted the fall in the number of spouses/dependents pensions in payment. The Pensions Manager was hopeful that the new software supplier would be in a position to search and identify these cases, in order to reduce the numbers .¹ He also anticipated that performance in producing pension estimates would improve with the introduction of a new member self-service platform. The Board also noted the number of scheme members being auto-enrolled into the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS), the number of complaints made to the Pensions Team, and the award of a contract to Heywoods for new pension administration software.

The Board also discussed the Scheme Advisory Board (SAB) briefing statement on funding surpluses. The statement highlights a number of issues that Pension Funds should be considering, given the recent improvements in their funding positions. In particular, it emphasises the benefits of stability in employer contribution rates and the need for Pension Funds to provide clear communication to both employers and members about the impact of these funding improvements and the importance of good governance.

Pensions' Performance

The Board noted the decisions of the Pensions Committee from their meeting on the 11th of March, which included a discussion of the performance of the Fund's investments.

Councillor Paul Convery, Chair of the Pensions Committee, commented on the performance of the Fund's investments noting that equities had been performing well . He suggested that the poor performance of the LCIV RBC Sustainability Fund was attributable to poor stock selection , and that the poor performance of the Quinbrook Renewable Energy Infrastructure Fund could be down to a calculation discrepancy, as this was generally a good investment .

The Committee asked officers to readjust the asset allocation to find space for new investments, to include London, the UK and inclusive economy investments . In response to this, the Board discussed the decision to allocate 5% of the Fund to impact investments² and stressed the importance of defining impact investments to ensure that these would deliver good returns for the Fund.

Risk Register

The Board noted the contents of the Pensions Risk Register and a number of specific risks that had been identified.

The Pensions Manager reported that he was concerned about the continuing late provision of payroll reports and confirmed that he had discussed this with the Payroll Team.

A Board member noted that the wording in the Register relating to mitigations and controls had not been updated, and asked that this be addressed at the next meeting. It was also suggested that all dates throughout the report should be synchronised.

Pension Fund Administration Cost 3-Year Forecast and Annual Cashflow

The Board noted the Pension Fund administration cost 3-year forecast and annual cashflow.

The Head of Pension Fund and Treasury Management confirmed that outcomes against forecast are compared annually in the Fund's accounts, and that this comparison also includes transaction costs.

Forward Plan of Business for Pensions Board

The Board noted the forward plan of business for the Pensions Board.

The Board also confirmed that the 2024 Annual General Meeting (AGM) would take place on the 30th of September at Islington Assembly Hall.

Training/Conferences

George Sharkey reported that he had recently attended a Trades Union Congress Pensions Team meeting. He offered to circulate slides from the meeting to interested Board members.

Alan Begg reported that he had recently attended two conferences: a conference in December 2023 on the topic of pension scams, and a conference in February 2024, with Councillor O'Sullivan, on the topic of impact investments.