The Pension Board of Croydon Council met on Thursday 11 April 2024 to discuss the Pension Fund's Medium Term Business Plan for 2024-2027, review the administration team's performance indicators, and receive updates on regulatory changes and training. The Board noted the progress on implementing governance review recommendations and reviewed the fund's breaches of the law log.

Pension Fund Medium Term Business Plan 2024/27

The Board reviewed the draft Pension Fund Medium Term Business Plan for 2024/25 to 2026/27. Matthew Hallett, Acting Head of Pensions and Treasury, presented the plan, highlighting that the Fund is approaching £2 billion in assets and is over 100% funded. He indicated that the Fund is expected to remain in surplus for several years, with a projected net income over the period 2024-27, partly due to investment policies. The plan also outlines the work programme for the Committee and Board, including the implementation of the Scheme Advisory Board's (SAB) good governance review and adherence to the new Pension Regulator's code of practice.

During the discussion, it was noted that the government's directive for pension funds to move their assets into local pools by 31 March 2025 presents a challenge, particularly due to the illiquid nature of some investments like private equity. The Fund intends to transfer listed assets to the London CIV pool, but acknowledges that the pool currently lacks the capacity for private equity investments. Officers believe they will have an opportunity to discuss these challenges with the government. The Board requested a review of the deadline for the Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) policy statement.

The Board agreed to the recommended Medium Term Business Plan 2024/27.

Croydon Pensions Administration Team Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

The Pension Manager presented the Key Performance Indicators for the Croydon Pensions Administration Team for the period December 2023 to February 2024. The report indicated that most KPIs were met, with consistent results across areas except for leavers. The team has been working to improve leaver processing, with some progress made, though a system development expected in May may cause a slight delay. The team has maintained control over monthly data mortality screening, identifying an average of 2-4 deaths per month that would otherwise have gone unnoticed.

The Board was informed that the administration team is working with their software provider on the pension dashboard and has collaborated with Heywood Pension Technologies on address tracing. The new member self-service system is ready, pending legal sign-off, with an anticipated launch in the autumn.

In response to questions, officers confirmed that the number of leavers had slightly increased, a common issue particularly within schools due to high staff turnover. The lack of auto-aggregation has hampered swift processing, as manual intervention is often required when staff move between schools. The administration team has completed all tracing activities. The Chair requested that the team's action plan be presented at the next meeting.

The Board noted the contents of the report and commented as appropriate.

The Pensions Regulator's New General Code Update

The Acting Head of Pensions and Treasury provided an update on The Pensions Regulator's (TPR) new General Code of Practice, which came into effect on 27 March 2024. This new code consolidates ten previous codes into a single document. Officers have opted to use AON's compliance checker to assess the Fund's adherence to the new code, with findings to be reported to the Board.

The Board noted and commented on the contents of the report.

Pension Committee Training Update

The Acting Head of Pensions and Treasury presented an update on the training undertaken by Pension Board and Committee members. The joint training plan for the Board and Committee was agreed at the previous Pension Committee meeting. Officers plan to schedule training sessions before each Pension Board and Pension Committee meeting in the next municipal year and encouraged members to complete the training modules on the Hymans online portal.

The Board was informed that Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) training had been recorded, and presentation slides would be circulated.

The Board reviewed the training log to ensure its accuracy and advised officers to update it for any unrecorded training.

Review of Breaches of the Law

The Acting Head of Pensions and Treasury reported that there were no new breaches of the law to report. The accounts for 2019/20 were presented to the Audit and Governance Committee on 14 March 2024 and agreed for sign-off. The auditors are expected to formally sign off the accounts before the end of April. The audit for the 2023/24 accounts is commencing, and there is a national exercise to address a backlog of outstanding audit opinions. A consultation has been released setting a deadline of 30 September for all accounts up to 2022/23 to be agreed.

The Board reviewed and noted the contents of the Pension Fund Breaches of the Law Log.

Croydon Council Pension Fund Data Retention and GDPR

The Pension Manager introduced an updated report on Croydon Council Pension Fund's Data Retention and GDPR policies. The updated policies, based on Local Government Association (LGA) templates, have been approved by the Pension Committee and published on the Council's website. The report highlighted the types of personal data held, the necessity of secure data transfer, and the long-term retention requirements for employers, particularly in cases of academy conversions where data ownership can be uncertain. Officers will focus on the quality of monthly and year-end data received to mitigate reporting issues.

The Board noted the contents of the report.

Local Government Pension Scheme Advisory Board/The Pensions Regulator Update

The Acting Head of Pensions and Treasury provided an update on matters being considered by the Local Government Pension Scheme Advisory Board (SAB) and The Pensions Regulator (TPR). Key points included the SAB's ongoing work on the LGPS Gender Pensions Gap, including a forthcoming virtual event and the establishment of a working group. The report also detailed advice received regarding Sharia law and the LGPS, concluding that the legal risk of discrimination claims remains low. Updates were provided on the Economic Activity of Public Bodies (Overseas Matters) Bill, the DLUHC's consultation on the local audit backlog, and TPR's new General Code of Practice.

The Board noted the contents of the report.

Exclusion of the Press and Public

The Board resolved to exclude the press and public from the remainder of the meeting under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972. This was due to the likely disclosure of exempt information relating to the financial or business affairs of particular persons, where the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighed the public interest in disclosure.

Part B - Cyber Security Update

Following the exclusion of the press and public, the Board received an update on cyber security requirements.

The meeting concluded at 3:06 pm.