Here's a briefing on the Pension Fund Committee meeting held on 16 June 2025.

The committee agreed to take no further action regarding a historic prepayment, and approved the first step of a two-step approach to pooling property assets, involving signing up to the London CIV's fee negotiation and monitoring service for the fund's £30 million investment in the CBRE Global Alpha Fund. The committee also discussed risk management, the triennial valuation, administration performance, and asset pooling.

Rectification of Prepayments

The committee agreed to take no further action regarding a historic prepayment of pension contributions.

The report provided an update on the situation regarding the historic prepayment of pension contributions by the council following the 2019 actuarial valuation¹ and subsequent repayments from the London Borough of Barnet Pension Fund back to the council. The three key options for rectification were:

• Option 1: Allow the fund to retain the third repayment.
• Option 2: Unwind the additional payments and repayments.
• Option 3: Make the third planned repayment.

The report recommended that the Pension Fund Committee take no further action regarding the prepayment, approve option 1 for rectifying additional payments, and note the update to the Governance, Audit, Risk Management and Standards Committee (GARMS) regarding updates to the scheme of delegation, procedure note, officer training and other documentation requirements.

The committee agreed to take no further action regarding the 'Prepayment', approve option 1 in respect of the rectification of additional payments made to the Pension Fund, and noted the update that went to GARMS in respect of updating the scheme of delegation, procedure note, officer training and other documentation requirements to clarify the separation between the Pension Fund and the council as an Employer.

Investment Strategy and Property Pooling

The committee approved the first step of a two-step approach to pooling property assets.

The committee discussed a report outlining upcoming proposals for the fund's strategic asset allocation to align with asset pooling objectives². The report recommended transferring oversight responsibility of the CBRE Global Alpha Fund (£30 million) to London CIV under an Engagement Agreement. This agreement was to be signed by the Executive Director of Resources (s151 officer). Officers and advisors would explore options with the London CIV for pooling the remaining off-pool real estate holdings.

The two-step approach to pooling the Fund's property assets is summarised as follows:

• Step 1 Fee Negotiation & Monitoring Service: transfer responsibility for oversight of the CBRE Global Alpha Fund (£30m) to London CIV under an Engagement Agreement. The Fund would achieve fee savings immediately by pooling its holdings with other London CIV Partner Funds.
• Step 2 Transition to LCIV IREP Service: transfer responsibility for the management of the Fund's entire property allocation (£85m) to London CIV under an Investment Management Agreement (IMA). London CIV will then delegate responsibility for management of the portfolio to CBRE who would gradually look to transition the existing Fund's holdings towards its best ideas model-portfolio.

The committee approved signing up to the London CIV's Fee Negotiation and Monitoring service for the Fund's £30 million investment in the CBRE Global Alpha Fund, as set out in the exempt paper. They also delegated authority to the Executive Director of Resources to implement this recommendation, in consultation with Councillor Rishikesh Chakraborty, Chair of the Pension Fund Committee.

Risk Management Review

The committee discussed the pension fund risk registers, which detail the risks associated with the management of the scheme, including current assessment and planned actions and targets.

Mark Fox, Pensions Manager, noted that the risk registers are reviewed quarterly by officers, and also at every meeting of the Local Pensions Board.

Councillor Nick Mearing-Smith raised concerns about the number of items needing action on the Pension None Administration Risk Register. Mark Fox, Pensions Manager, responded that some risks may be effectively mitigated and require no further action.

The committee noted the updated administration and non-administration risk registers.

Triennial Valuation Report

The committee considered the 2025 triennial valuation³, which assesses the funding position of the pension scheme and sets employer contribution rates every three years. Stephen Scott, Fund Actuary, provided a verbal update, following on from a Pension Valuation Working Group meeting held on 27 May 2025. He noted that another working group meeting would be held to provide members with additional information to enable agreement of the proposed assumptions at the 15 September 2025 committee meeting.

The committee noted the contents of Appendix A, which outlines the valuation process and the timetable, and the verbal update provided by Stephen Scott, Fund Actuary.

Administration Performance Report

The committee reviewed the administration performance report, which provided an update on the current administration performance by West Yorkshire Pension Fund (WYPF), along with updates on other administration and legislative matters.

Mark Fox, Pensions Manager, noted that West Yorkshire Pension Fund's performance in terms of cases completed within the key performance indicators continues to be satisfactory, and that the number of complaints received by West Yorkshire Pension Fund continues to remain very low.

The committee noted the current performance levels by WYPF and updates on other administration and legislative matters.

Update on Asset Pooling

The committee received an update on asset pooling, with Tim, providing an update on the government's pensions investment review outcome, and the draft transition plan for the London Barrow Barnett pension fund to be fully approved by 31 March 2026.

The report confirmed that all core proposals from the government's review would be implemented, with a deadline of March 2026 for administering authorities and pools to meet minimum requirements, including transferring all assets to pool management.

The committee noted the outcome of the government's Pensions Investment Review and the draft transition plan to achieve 100% pooling by 31 March 2026.

Investment Performance Report

The committee considered the investment performance report for the quarter ended 31 March 2025.

The report provided updates on investment valuations, transactions, and performance. Hymans Robertson provided a verbal update on the market performance during the quarter.

The committee noted the Pension Fund's investment performance and activity for the quarter ending 31 March 2025.

Committee Work Programme

The committee noted the work programme.