The Islington Pensions Board was scheduled to meet to discuss the pension fund's performance, administration, and risk management, as well as to review the draft year-end accounts and forward work programme. The board was also expected to consider the appointment of a chair.

Appointment of Chair

The Pensions Board was scheduled to consider nominations for the position of Chair of the Board. The report pack noted that Councillor Jenny Kay and Ian Ship were employer representatives, and that in accordance with a prior decision, the position of Chair should be filled by an employer representative for the municipal year 2025/26, unless the Board decided otherwise. It was noted that George Sharkey, an employee representative, had held the position for the past year.

Pension Fund Performance

The board was scheduled to note the pension fund performance from 1 January to 31 March 2025, as detailed in the BNY Mellon interactive performance report and a presentation by Apex, the independent investment advisers, on the fund managers' quarterly performance.

The report pack included a table summarising the fund managers' performance:

The report pack also included Apex's fund manager overview, which provided additional details on manager performance, leavers and joiners, and assets under management. Apex's report noted that the LCIV Global Equity Fund (Newton) underperformed its benchmark during Q1 2025 by -0.12%, and that Euan Munro, CEO and Mitesh Sheth, co-CIO of Newton, had left the firm.

Pension Administration Performance

The Pensions Board was scheduled to review the performance data for the administration activities of the council's Pensions Office, and to note the number of members auto-enrolled into the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS), information on the Internal Dispute Resolution Procedure (IDRP), compliments and complaints, any new Internal Audit Investigations, the Scheme Advisory Board Update, and developments on the Pensions Dashboard.

The report pack included a table summarising performance against case type for the period from 1 February to 30 April 2025:

The report pack stated that key processes completed had increased by approximately 21% over the previous quarter, but overall performance had declined by 5% due to resourcing challenges.

The Scheme Advisory Board (SAB) news update included in the report pack referred to a government response to the LGPS Fit for the Future Consultation, and a consultation on improving fairness in and access to the LGPS.

Pension Fund Draft 2024/25 Year End Accounts

The Pensions Board was scheduled to review the Funds 2024/25 draft year end accounts. The report pack noted that the draft pension fund accounts were finalised and published on 17 June, with working papers being compiled to be handed to the auditors the following month.

The main highlights included:

• An increase in net assets of £77 million to £2,038 million.
• Employees' contributions totalled £17.6 million, compared to £16.5 million in 2023/24.
• Employers' contributions, including deficit contributions, amounted to £48.3 million, compared to £62.2 million in the previous year.
• Pensions paid totalled £66.4 million, compared to £60.4 million in 2023/24.
• Investment management fees, including charges on pooled funds, were £12.4 million, compared to £10.9 million in 23/24.

Pensions Risk Register

The Pensions Board was scheduled to note the contents of the report and revisions made to the Pensions Risk Register (PRR). The report pack stated that the PRR outlines the key objectives of the Islington Pension Fund and its administration, and establishes the methodology for implementing proactive risk management.

The report pack highlighted some specific risks:

• Risk 6 – Pension Payroll Reports – Creation & Maintenance: The risk rating for this area of work remained at 9, due to the imminent departure of the consultant responsible for writing all reports.
• Risk 11 – Remedies in relation to the McCloud Judgement: The timeline for including remediable service information in the 2025 Annual Benefit Statements (ABS) remained a challenge. The initial risk rating on this area of work had increased from 12 to 15, but updated mitigations had reduced the rating to 12.
• Risk 13 – Delayed Implementation of iConnect Tool: The risk rating on this area had increased from 10 to 12.

Forward Work Programme

The Pensions Board was scheduled to consider its forward work programme for 2025/26 and to note the LGPS Current Issue- June 2025 latest update on current issues.