Agenda and minutes

(if any) - receive

Apologies for inability to attend the meeting were received by Councillor Jason Frost and Keith Darvill. Councillors Martin Goode and Ron Ower attended the meeting remotely.

Members are invited to disclose any interest in any of the items on the agenda at this point of the meeting.

Members may still disclose any interest in any item at any time prior to the consideration of the matter.

There were no disclosures of interest.

To approve the minutes of the meeting held on 25 January 2022 and authorise the Chairman to sign them.

The minutes for the meeting held on 25 January 2022 were agreed as a correct record.

Report attached.

The Committee were presented with Pensions Administration Budget 2022/23 and Service Level Agreement Review report.  The Havering Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) was provided via a shared service agreement with Lancashire County Council (LCC) who delegate the function to the Local Pensions Partnership Administration (LPPA). The report detailed the LPPA’s proposed budget for 2022/23 of £0.519m, an overall increase of 3% from 2021/22.

It was explained that the LPPA were also proposing a change to the service level agreements (SLA) currently in place. This would be the first change to the SLA following the commencement of the shared service agreement in November 2017. 

The Committee agreed the recommendations.

Report and appendices attached.

The Committee were presented with the Business Plan – Annual Report 2021-22. The report set out the work undertaken by the Committee during 2021/22 and the plan of work for the forthcoming three years, attached as Appendix A and would form the basis of a rolling Pension Fund Business Plan 2022/23 – 2024/25.

It was explained that this would be the last year of the current Pensions Committee term of office due to the Local Borough Elections being held in May 2022. Therefore the Committee’s achievement only were covered from the period 1st April 2021 to 31 December 2021 to meet Council reporting deadlines. The report also explained why a Business Plan was needed and what it should contain.

The Committee agreed the recommendations.

Report and appendices attached.

The Committee were presented with the Pension Fund Performance Monitoring Quarter End December 2021 report. The report provided an overview of Fund investment performance, Manager Monitoring and any relevantLocal Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) updates for the quarter ending 31 December 2021.

It was explained that the significant events (Russian invasion of the Ukraine) that occurred after the production of the report would be addressed verbally at the meeting. 

Previous to the volatility now seen in the markets, Funds had grown in value by 3.04% over the quarter but had underperformed in both their tactical and strategic benchmark. The general position of the Fund was considered along with other matters, including any current issues, as advised by Hymans.

The Committee agreed to exclude the Public from all relevant parts of Appendices B and C on the grounds of paragraph 3 of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972.

A fund manager from Royal London Asset Managementattended the meeting and gave an overview of asset classes and funds held in the fund. Hymans’ was also on hand and discussed the fund’s performance. Hymans and Officers discussed with Members any issues arising from the monitoring of the other managers.

The Committee agreed the recommendations.

Report and appendices attached.

The Committee were presented with the Public Service Pensions Act 2013 – Section 13 report. The Government Actuary Department (GAD) had been appointed by the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) to report under section 13 of the Public Service Pensions Act 2013 in connection with the actuarial valuations of the 88 Funds in the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) in England and Wales.

This report was published as three documents: the executive summary (Appendix A), the report (Appendix B) and appendices (Appendix C).

It was explained that GAD were content that the Havering Fund had a reasonable funding plan in place and there were no concerns identified in the report that would require any action from the Committee.

The Committee agreed the recommendations.