To consider the action plan for addressing amber and red items.
Minutes:
Following reviews at previous meetings the Pension Fund Manager advised that the report had been updated and the date on which sections had been reviewed were included in the report.
The Board reviewed the following sections and made the following comments [numbers refer to the Compliance indicator]:
Governing your Scheme [38-60]
The Board noted that the training of Board members, including training at meetings had been calculated as 10 hours each.
The Board agreed:
· that an extra meeting would be held in the New Year to consider the Cohort Review and also undertake training based on TPR Toolkit
· the Pension Fund Manager would circulate the Training Needs self-assessment to Board Members for completion by the end of January 2020 and a 10 month training programme would be developed from the responses.
Conflicts of interest and representation [62-91]
76 & 77 – potential conflicts of interest were considered – The Code of Practice 14 refers only to Pension Boards and not to Committees. The Board has agreed that the Chair’s wider involvement in providing training for pension board members and support officers is complementary, and helpful to the Powys Board. Training provision for Board members is arranged and agreed by the Board Secretary, hence there is no conflict of interest. Regarding the selection of a Powys officer to the designated position on the Board, the Administering Authority ensures that the guidance in the Code of Practice is adhered to when making the appointment. Finally, all interests are disclosed at each meeting, but it is recommended that Board members sign a formal declaration of interest on an annual basis. The Board also noted the Chair’s comments on the significant governance improvements implicit in the SAB Phase II consultation on Good Governance which is primarily focussed on the relationship between Pensions Committees and Administering Authorities.
81 – 84 – the Pension Fund Manager advised that completion of the Toolkit module relating to this would support the completion of this section.
Publishing information about schemes [92-98]
It was noted that the Pension Board website showed the Board minutes but not the agendas. The Pension Fund Manager would rectify this.
Managing risks [104-120]
114 – The Board noted that work had commenced regarding employers’ covenants. The Chair advised he would refer to this at the forthcoming Employers meeting at which he is speaking.
115 – it was noted that the Regulator was increasingly taking an interest in whether assets were safe. The Chair advised he would look into how other Funds addressed this.
116 – the Board noted the current internal Audit review. The Pension Fund Manager advised he would clarify the internal process for considering the report.
Administration [124-146]
140 – see agenda item 11
Providing information to Members [188-210]
196 – the Pension Fund Manager advised that this was still amber due to the issues regarding deferred benefits and explained the process undertaken regarding these. The Board agreed that an explanation of the immediate communication and notification and information provided to scheme members in respect of deferred benefits should be included in the right-hand column for this item.
208 – it was noted that the tracing exercise would be undertaken in early 2020.
The Board noted that the Regulator was to combine all its 15 codes into one and Local Government Pension Funds had raised concerns regarding this.
Supporting documents: