Minutes of the Pensions Forum Meeting held on 14 May Present: Stephen Sweeney (Chairman) A.T.T. Star Academy, Sandyford

Transcription

1 Minutes of the Pensions Forum Meeting held on 14 May 2013 Present: Stephen Sweeney (Chairman) Also in attendance: Lisa Asprey Suzanne Birchall Rebecca Bostock Joanne Bradbury Sean Bridges Andrew Briers Colin Briley Rebecca Carlton Sandra Carr Liz Clarke Jo Clifford John Davis M Griffiths Mark Hattersley Louise Hill Andre Jackson Jane Kitchen Julie Leo John Lindsay Barbara Mahoney Chris Manning Tracey McCready Andrew Stokes Debbie Tivton Steve Tolley Kelvin Turner Trish Vernon Irina Volkova-Heath Chris Welch John Wheatley Louise Williamson A.T.T. Star Academy, Sandyford Staffordshire Police Erasmus Darwin Academy The Painsley Catholic Academy P.S.S. Burton & South Derbyshire College Stoke-on-Trent College Mosey Academy, Burton-upon-Trent The Cheadle Academy St Edwards CE Academy The JCB Academy Staffordshire Police Staffordshire County Council Staffordshire University Cannock Chase District Council South Staffordshire District Council Lichfield District Council Bromford Group Aspire Housing John Taylor High School Landau Forte Charitable Trust Stoke-on-Trent City Council Staffordshire Moorlands District Council Penkridge Parish Council Stafford & Rural Homes Newcastle Borough Council Stafford & Rural Homes Staffordshire Fire & Rescue Community Council of Staffordshire Tamworth Borough Council Bromford Group Apologies: Philip Atkins and Mike Lawrence PART ONE 27. Apologies Jason Bate (Lapley, Stretton & Wheaton Aston Parish Council); Alan Begg (Valuation Tribunal Services); Paul Brindley (Staffordshire Police); Keiran Chauhan (Burton & South Derbyshire College); John Cox (Landau Forte); Mary Danby (Burntwood Town

2 Council); Lynne Galsworthy (Rawlett Academy); Vanessa Howard (South Staffs College); Sophie Hubbard (Landau Forte); Rebecca Mason (Rugeley Town Council); Paul Matthews (Staffordshire & Stoke-on-Trent Health Partnership); Karen Procter (Burton & South Derbyshire College); Neville Raby (Stafford Borough Council); and representatives from Keele University, Sutherland Primary School, Uttoxeter Town Council, Violet Way Academy and Your Housing Group. 28. Minutes of the Meeting held on 13 November 2012 RESOLVED: That the minutes of the Pensions Forum held on the 13 November 2012 be approved and signed by the Chairman. 29. Appointment of Co-opted Member of Pensions Committee (Other Scheduled Bodies Representative) The Forum Members were reminded that a vacancy for the Other Scheduled Bodies category had arisen. Members had been invited to nominate a co-optee, 3 nominations were received, John Cox (Landau Forte; Harry Brunt (Stone Town Council) and Pat Ansell (Rugeley Town Council). Provision was made to vote via the Employers Pensions webpage, and a clear winner was revealed. RESOLVED: That John Cox be formally nominated to represent the Forum as a nonvoting co-opted member of the Pensions Committee on behalf of the Other Scheduled Bodies category. 30. Pensions Administration Update Janet Caiazzo, Pensions Manager, gave a presentation on the developments regarding the new Local Government Pensions Scheme (LGPS) to be implemented on 1 April The new Scheme regulations broadly divided into three general headings, and although some draft regulations had been issued they were incomplete and, not all of the regulations had reached the consultation stage. The first group of regulations covered membership, contributions and benefits and had been put out for consultation on two occasions. It was expected that a final draft would incorporate some of the administration regulations, which would be available soon. The second group of regulations referred to as the Transitional Provisions and Savings were under consultation and due to close on 24 May It was expected that the final draft would be available by the end of the summer. Of concern was the limited timescale within which the new Scheme would need to be implemented. The third part of the regulations concerned the Governance Regulations which had not yet been drafted as the document would need to comply with the Public Services Pensions Act 2013, which had been given Royal Assent on 25 April LGPS administrators were awaiting the draft consultation on these regulations before they could timetable the range of changes that the regulations would demand.

3 The new non-statutory guidance on Fair Deal was also awaited and although not specifically aimed at Local Government this Guidance would affect the treatment of pensions when staff which were transferred under the TUPE regulations to private sector organisations from the Public Sector. Janet assured employers that they would be given training to assist them with the changes that would need to be made for the new Scheme. She also urged employers to take early action and liaise with their payroll management as soon as possible to organise the extra and different data requirements that will be needed under the new scheme and how and when they would need to submit data to Staffordshire Pensions Fund (SPF). The new CARE (Career Average Revalued Earnings) scheme was dependent on accurate pay data; with the added complication of the new Scheme having two sections; so that employees can opt to pay a lower more affordable contribution and build up a reduced but still valuable pension. However, this would entail much more detailed and more frequent data reporting to ensure that each employee would have an accurate calculation of their pension entitlement. These data sets would be particularly important in respect of those employees who had variable or no fixed hours; and for those who had been on sick leave or a leave of absence. SPF were endeavouring to purchase new software to assist with the submission and verification of data through the Employer Portal. The Transitional Regulations dealt with the protected elements of the current LGPS, such as Final Salary, Rule of 85 and added year s purchases. The Final Salary Scheme would be protected until 31 March 2014, as would the rule of 85. However, the added years purchase would cease at 31 March 2014, and the individuals concerned would be contacted. The Public Services Pensions Act 2013 had made provision for scrutiny of the administration of the LGPS through the introduction of National Advisory and Local Pensions Boards. Details were not yet available. Information was also awaited on the proposed Cost Cap mechanism for the future scheme and on the price index to be used as the basis for calculations (RPI or CPI - the latter was likely) Consultation was currently underway on access by Councillors and other elected office holders to LGPS. The three options to consider were: No access to LGPS 2014 Scheme (which the Government preferred) Front Bench Councillors only No change Forum members were urged to respond where applicable. Janet also updated members on a number of Fund consultations. As Council s were now outsourcing their services and staff were being transferred as part of this process, the Fund had developed with the Actuary a Bulk Transfers Policy to improve the clarity of these administrative processes and also explain the way in which they would be funded. In addition an Administration Policy, (a Service Level Agreement) would be introduced for employers clarifying the employer and Administering Authorities role within the regulations. It was expected to be signed off by the Pensions Committee in

4 July, and circulated along with the updated Funding Strategy Statement. She also reported that some end of year data had still not been received and the Pensions Team would be chasing those concerned. Consultation on the Department of Works and Pension Technical Changes for Automatic Enrolment closed on 7 May It was hoped that there would be a relaxation of the tight conditions in monitoring employees for some employer s in the Fund. The Government s new Automatic Enrolment training was nearly ready to roll out to employers, the first session was to take place on 10 June Janet outlined the highlights of the New Pensions Bill, which referred to the changes of the State Pension Age from the current 65 to 67. It was proposed to phase the State Pension Age increase over a period of time; the move to 67 was to be brought forward eight years with the move to age 67 taking place between 2026 and The current old age pension was to be replaced with a new Flat Rate Pension in 2016 and would be known as the Citizens Pension, the proposal would simplify the way that pensions are structured and paid particularly when in conjunction with occupational pensions Valuation - Employers' Contribution Rates - Overview Douglas Green and his colleague Laura Molloy, Hymans Robertson, gave a joint presentation to the Forum members. The topics covered were preparation for the 2013 valuation and outlook of the results /contributions LGPS reform Proposed changes to the State Pension Employer issues: varying approaches; activities affecting contributions. The 2013 valuation would determine the contribution rates for the next three years from 1 April 2014, preliminary reports were hoped to be available at the May, and discussions would be undertaken to over the following months to both validate the data and agree on contribution rates for all employers. Douglas impressed upon the Forum that it was not a one size fits all solution and there would be detailed analysis of the data to ensure that all employers were specified contribution rates, these figures would be finalised in the New Year and be effective from 1 April Again, Employers were urged to liaise with the Pension Team and make sure that their data was correct and up to date. There was to be a covenant questionnaire circulated shortly, and members were asked to respond, The Funding Strategy Statement (FSS) would also be out for consultation in the near future. Members were also given a briefing on the outlook for the valuation and discussed the drivers that would inform the new document. Since the last evaluation in 2010 the liabilities on the fund had grown although the assets had grown above the expected benchmark, it had been unable to keep pace with the growth in the liabilities. Longevity was still an issue with regard to the liability growth as was the market conditions which had not revived to the extent that government had hoped. The new LGPS would have a positive impact but it would take time for the benefit to be felt, and employers would see some modest savings.

5 Each employer in the fund had their liabilities and assets individually tracked. The aim was to ensure that there cross subsidies between employing bodies were managed. All funds used the same assumptions and calculations and therefore the submitted data being timely and up to date became very important. Local Government employer s had to pick up the costs of employing bodies in the LGPS that failed, whereas private companies were subsidised by the Government via a special fund. To alleviate the risks of these failures SPF would be assessing all employing bodies to ensure that guarantors, covenants and or bonds that were held by them could cover their pension liabilities. Further details would be included in the FSS. The economic climate had driven changes to how services were delivered and there was an increasing need to drive down costs, leading to not only structural changes within the County Council, but also in reduced staffing and outsourcing. Contractors were asked to provide a guarantor or bond before participating in the Staffordshire Fund. Staff reductions could result in an increase in an employer s deficit because of the reduced income from a falling payroll, redundancies would add to the drain on the fund. Closing the scheme to new entrants would cost more over time and eventually cessation valuations would be triggered for employers with the decline of active members. As SPF included nearly a 150 different employing bodies, it was important to develop the FSS to ensure that all employers were managed fairly. However, since the issue of the previous FSS there had been some minor changes to the regulations which necessitated an update to the document. The new FSS would include these changes and provide an up to date document for all parties involved. It was to be noted that there would be a further consultation in the coming months on the FSS to tie in with the 2013 triennial valuation. 32. Pension Fund End of Financial Year 2013 Update John Wood, Head of Financial and Commercial Services, presented a brief overview of the Fund performance for year end 31 March The fund had grown by 13.8% and this had resulted in a current Fund value of approximately 3 billion. The return analysis showed that the various elements of the portfolio had provided a modest excess return of 1% above the benchmark. Most managers and most asset classes had contributed positively to the overall return during the year. Taking a longer term perspective the fund had beaten its benchmark over 1 year and 3 years but was slightly below benchmark over 5 and 10 years. The Fund had taken a major decision in 2009 to restructure when it was also decided to terminate some of the Active Managers who had been unable to maintain a positive performance, and their funds had been re-allocated among the remaining Active Managers. The changes had been effective and the Fund management had seen measureable improvement since then and in the attribution to the total fund excess returns at 31 March 2013 where the numbers of positive returns far outweighed the negative returns.

6 Looking at the overall funding position; the position was slightly complicated. The Fund value had actually outperformed the assumption that had been made at the last valuation in 2010 and as a result the assets had performed well. However, the funding gap was still increasing owing to the increase in liabilities. John also referred to recent investment activity. One of these was the termination of the contract with the Hedge Fund manager from FRM and the development of a bespoke Hedge Fund portfolio in conjunction with Goldman Sachs. The disinvestment of 100 million equity to keep within the benchmark had been reallocated - 21 million to Corporate Bond Manager and the 15 million to each of the Diversified Alternatives Managers. 33. Date of Next Meeting - Tuesday 5 November 2013 be available on request. Chairman Documents referred to in these minutes as Schedules are not appended, but will be attached to the signed copy of the Minutes of the meeting. Copies, or specific information contained in them, may be available on request.