Agenda and minutes

In the absence of the Chairman, the Board appointed Emma Downie as Chairman for the meeting.

RESOLVED: That the Local Pension Board appoint Emma Downie as Chairman for the meeting.

There were no apologies for absence.

There were no additional declarations of interest.

RESOLVED:  That the minutes of the meeting held on 7 February 2023 be agreed.

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the meetings of the Pensions Committee on 22 February, 13 March and 24 May 2023 be noted.

Report CSD23088

The Board considered a report presenting minutes and selected documents reviewed at the meetings of the Pensions Committee on 22 February, 13 March and 24 May 2023 including the report on Pension Fund Performance Q4 2022/23 and its appendices, the MJ Hudson Q4 2022/23 report and key developments in the Local Government Pension Scheme.

The Senior Accountant: Pensions advised that London Borough of Bromley Pension Fund remained approximately 115% funded which represented a healthy position and provided scope for the Local Authority to invest in higher risk areas which offered better returns, including equities.  This investment strategy combined with robust performance of equities in recent years had led to a misalignment of the Bromley Pension Fund tactical asset allocation with the Strategic Asset Allocation Benchmark being overweight in equities.  The Pensions Committee was working address this imbalance and had lately sold the £70M Baillie Gifford Global Equity Fund to purchase £20M of the Fidelity Fixed Interest Fund and £15M each of the Fidelity and Schroders Multi-Asset Income Funds with £20M placed into the US Dollar account awaiting drawdown into the Morgan Stanley International Property Fund.  Following extensive consideration by the Pensions Committee, the Local Authority’s remaining investments with Baillie Gifford had recently been transferred to the London Collective Investment Vehicle.  This was in line with Government guidance on regional pooling and was anticipated to realise savings in the cost of fund management.  Moving forward, Environmental, Social and Governance would be a key area of focus and the Local Authority would be meeting with representatives of the London Collective Investment Vehicle in Summer 2023 to explore this further, including carbon weighting on pensions investments.

RESOLVED: That the Local Pension Board note:

·  The minutes of the meetings of the Pensions Committee held on 22 February, 13 March and 24 May 2023; and,

·  Report on Pension Fund Performance Q4 2022/23 and appendices considered at the meeting of the Pensions Committee on 24 May 2023.

Report CSD23089

The Board considered the draft annual report of the Local Pension Board which was an annual requirement under the Local Pension Board’s Terms of Reference and would also be provided to Full Council via the Pensions Committee for noting.

RESOLVED: That the Local Pension Board:

·  Approves the draft annual report of the Local Pension Board; and, 

·  Approves the draft Local Pension Board workplan for 2023/24.

Report CSD23090

The Board considered the Performance Monitoring Report 2022/23 and the Performance Monitoring Report for the 2023/24 financial year to 31 May 2023 which provided necessary information for the Local Pension Board to assess whether the Bromley Pension Fund was complying with the Pension Regulator’s Code of Practice on Governance and Administration of public service pension schemes.

In introducing the report, the Head of the Pensions Shared Service outlined key statutory milestones completed during the year including the Triennial Valuation of the Pension Fund by Mercer which summarised the outcomes from the valuation at a Whole Fund level and for the Local Authority, with the outcomes being reflected in the Council Budget for the 2023/24 financial year.  A Board Member reported that some pensioners had experienced issues with pension payment amounts in April and May 2023, and this issue would be flagged with Liberata as a matter of urgency.  The Board Member underlined the importance of ensuring that pensioners received clear and timely information regarding their pensions and the Senior Accountant: Pension Fund was pleased to advise that work to introduce a secure self-service option for Pension Scheme members was nearing completion and would enable members to view their pension details and complete basic administration, such as updating contact or payroll details.

RESOLVED: That the Local Pension Board note:

·  The Pensions Regulator Code of Practice ‘Governance and administration of public service pension schemes’ as a guide to good governance;

·  The procedures and policies in place to monitor Liberata’s performance; and,

·  Liberata’s current performance levels.

The Head of Pensions Shared Service/Senior Accountant (Pensions) led the Committee in thanking outgoing Chairman and Board Member, Vinit Shukle for his excellent contribution to the Local Pension Board.  Other Board Members whose current terms were nearing expiry would be seeking reappointment and were thanked for their service.

3.00pm, Thursday 12 October 2023

The next meeting of the Local Pension Board would be held at 3.00pm on Thursday 12 October 2023. 

The Chairman to move that the Press and public be excluded during consideration of the items of business listed below as it is likely in view of the nature of the business to be transacted or the nature of the proceedings that if members of the Press and public were present there would be disclosure to them of exempt information.

RESOLVED that the Press and public be excluded during consideration of the items of business referred to below as it is likely in view of the nature of the business to be transacted or the nature of the proceedings that if members of the Press and public were present there would be disclosure to them of exempt information.

The following summaries

refer to matters involving exempt information

The Part 2 (Exempt) minutes of the meetings of the Pensions Committee on 22 February, 13 March and 24 May 2023 were noted.