Pension Board and Committee – Work Programme

 


Future Pension Board Agenda

Item

Description

Author

Standing items (items that appear on each agenda)

Pension Committee Agenda

A consideration of the draft agenda of the Pension Committee.

Head of Pensions

Governance Report

A report on governance issues effecting the fund, developments in the LGPS, policy amendments and McCloud working group update

Pensions Manger – Governance and Compliance

Employer Engagement and Contributions Report

A report on Employer Engagement matters to note, Employer Contributions update, Communications from the Fund and Communications working group update

Pensions Manger – Employer Engagement

Pensions Administration report

An update on the performance of the Pensions Administration Team.

Head of Pensions Administration

Internal Audit reports

All internal audit reports on the ESPF are reported to the Board

Head of Internal Audit

East Sussex Pension Fund (ESPF) Quarterly budget report

An update on the ESPF’s budget. This is reported in Q2-4 only.

Head of Pensions

East Sussex Pension Fund (ESPF) Risk Register

A report on the ESPF’s Risk Register

Head of Pensions

Work programme

A report on the Board and Committee’s work programme

Head of Pensions

East Sussex Pension Fund (ESPF) Breaches Log

A report on the ESPF breaches log

Head of Pensions

Employer Admissions and Cessations

A report on the admission and cessation of employers to the ESPF.

Head of Pensions

8 February 2023

Business Plan and Budget 2023/24

Report to set the Budget for the Pension Fund for the Financial Year 2023/24 including the Business Plan with key deliverables for the year.

Head of Pensions

External Audit Plan for the East Sussex Pension Fund 2022/23

Draft External Audit Plan for 2021/22 Pension Fund Financial Statements

Head of Pensions

2022 Valuation report and results and Final Funding Strategy Statement (FSS)

Final report and results from the Fund Actuary of the 31 March 2022 triennial valuation with the final FSS for approval post consultation.

Head of Pensions

Additional Voluntary Contributions (AVC) Report

AVC update report on AVC offerings to members

Head of Pensions

30 May 2023

Governance and Compliance Statement

Annual Review of Governance and Compliance Statement

Governance and Compliance Pensions Manager

Annual Report of the Pension Board

Annual report of the Pension Board to the Scheme manager outlining the work throughout the year

Head of Pensions with the Chair of the Board

4 September 2023

Independent Auditors Report on the Pension Fund Accounts 2021/22

A report on the External Audit findings of the Pension Fund financial Statements for 2021/22

Head of Pensions

Pension Fund Annual Report and Accounts 2021/22

2020/21 Annual Report and Accounts for approval

Head of Pensions

2 November 2023

Employer Forum Agenda

Discussion on Pension Fund Employer Forum Agenda topics

Pensions Manger – Employer Engagement

Annual Training Plan

Report on Training completed in the year and training recommendations for the up-coming year

Head of Pensions

 

 


Actions requested by the Pensions Board

Subject Area

Detail

Status

Internal Audit reports

The Board requested that internal audit consider an audit of the common data sets

provided to the Pensions Regulator

TBC

Scheme administration

The Board requested a report on potential recommendations from the Scheme

Advisory Board (SAB) that the Scheme Manager role is removed from local

authority control.

Ongoing

discussions

Scheme administration

The Board requested a future report on how the ESPF KPIs for pension

administration compare with those of other local government pension schemes.

 

To be provided

when new KPI tool implemented

Decision making

To revise the decision-making matrix (including a RACI model) and to circulate it

for information.

 

In progress

 

 

 

 

 


 

 


Future Pension Committee Agenda

Item

Description

Author

Standing items (items that appear on each agenda)

Governance Report

A report on governance issues effecting the fund, developments in the LGPS, approval of policy amendments and McCloud working group update

Pensions Manger – Governance and Compliance

Pensions Administration report

An update on the performance of the Pensions Administration Team.

Head of Pensions Administration

Internal Audit reports

Internal audit reports on the ESPF and annual audit plan.

Head of Internal Audit

East Sussex Pension Fund (ESPF) Quarterly budget report

An update on the ESPF’s budget - reported Q2-4 only

Head of Pensions

East Sussex Pension Fund (ESPF) Risk Register

A report on the ESPF’s Risk Register

Head of Pensions

Work programme

A report on the Board and Committee’s work programme

Head of Pensions

Investment Report

A Quarterly performance report of the investment managers

Head of Pensions and Investment Consultant

East Sussex Pension Fund (ESPF) Breaches Log

A report on the ESPF breaches log – reported only when a new breach is recognised, or status changed. Report goes quarterly to Board.

Head of Pensions

Employer Admissions and Cessations

A report on the admission and cessation of employers to the ESPF - reported only when outstanding admissions or cessations.

Head of Pensions

30 November 2022

Independent Auditors Report on the Pension Fund Accounts 2021/22

A report on the External Audit findings of the Pension Fund financial Statements for 2021/22 including 2020/21 Annual Report and Accounts for approval

Head of Pensions

Employer Forum Agenda

Discussion on Pension Fund Employer Forum Agenda topics

Pensions Manger – Employer Engagement

Covenant Review Report

Report from PWC on the covenant review project

Head of Pensions

2022 Actuarial Valuation and Funding Strategy Statement

Report from the Fund Actuary on the March 2022 triennial valuation process, methodology and assumptions with a draft Funding Strategy Statement for approval prior to consultation

Head of Pensions

Annual Training Plan

Report on Training completed in the year and training recommendations for the up-coming year

Head of Pensions

22 February 2023

Business Plan and Budget 2023/24

Report to set the Budget for the Pension Fund for the Financial Year 2023/24 including the Business Plan with key deliverables for the year.

Head of Pensions

External Audit Plan for the East Sussex Pension Fund 2022/23

Draft External Audit Plan for 2021/22 Pension Fund Financial Statements

Head of Pensions

2022 Valuation report and results and Final Funding Strategy Statement (FSS)

Final report and results from the Fund Actuary of the 31 March 2022 triennial valuation with the final FSS for approval post consultation.

Head of Pensions

Additional Voluntary Contributions (AVC) Report

AVC update report on AVC offerings to members

Head of Pensions

15 June 2023

Governance and Compliance Statement

Annual Review of Governance and Compliance Statement

Governance and Compliance Pensions Manager

Annual Report of the Pension Board

Annual report of the Pension Board to the Scheme manager outlining the work throughout the year

Head of Pensions with the Chair of the Board

Carbon Footprinting

A report on the carbon footprint of the portfolio of ESPF including whether investments are in line with transition pathways.

Head of Pensions

20 July 2023 Investment Strategy review and training day (not a formal Committee meeting)

19 September 2023

Independent Auditors Report on the Pension Fund Accounts 2021/22

A report on the External Audit findings of the Pension Fund financial Statements for 2021/22

Head of Pensions

Pension Fund Annual Report and Accounts 2021/22

2020/21 Annual Report and Accounts for approval

Head of Pensions

16 November 2023

Employer Forum Agenda

Discussion on Pension Fund Employer Forum Agenda topics

Pensions Manger – Employer Engagement

Annual Training Plan

Report on Training completed in the year and training recommendations for the up-coming year

Head of Pensions

 

 

 

Actions requested by the Committee

Subject Area

Detail

Status

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Current working groups

Title of working group

Detail and meetings since last Pensions Board and Committee meetings

Membership

Investment Implementation Working Group (IIWG)

The Investment Working Group and ESG working group have been amalgamated, as agreed at Pensions Committee 21 September 2020.

The IIWG has an advisory role to over oversee the implementation of decisions by the Pension Committee in relation to investment decisions and carry out detailed research and analysis for Pensions Committee.

Recent meetings

·         16 August 2022 (various topics)

·         27 September 2022 (economic volatility)

·         26 October 2022 (update on economic volatility, credit mandates)

William Bourne, Russell Wood, Sian Kunert, Representative from Investment Consultant

Cllr Fox or substitute committee member is invited to attend

Administration Working Group

The Administration Working Group was set up in 2021 following the conclusion of the ABS and Data Improvement Working Group. The group discuss ongoing administration projects and areas of administration focus

Recent meetings

·         5 July 2022

·         16 August 2022

Scheduled

·         18 October 2022

·         15 December 2022

Cllr Fox, Ray Martin, Stephen Osborne, Neil Simpson (from August 2022) Paul Punter, Sian Kunert, Ian Gutsell

 

McCloud Working Group

The McCloud Working Group has been established to oversee the implementation of the McCloud ruling within a prescribed timeframe and addressing any gaps and barriers preventing progress and ultimately delivery of the project.

A high-level impact assessment has been completed to identify those members of the scheme that will be affected by this ruling.

The Group have acknowledged there are many data requests of employers and this project needs to be managed carefully with other demands on employers time.

Cllr Fox, Stephen Osborn, Lynda Walker, Paul Punter, Sian Kunert, Dave Kellond

Communications Working Group

The Communications Working Group was established by the Pensions Board in February 2021 to drive forward improvements in communications with stakeholders with support from employee and employer representatives.

Recent meetings

·         9 June 2022

·         14 September 2022

Scheduled meetings

·         9 November 2022

Lynda Walker, Ray Martin, Cllr Druitt, Sian Kunert, Tim Hillman, Paul Linfield

Note - All Board members invited to attend

 

 

 


 

 


Training and Development - recent and future events

Invited

Date

Topic

Committee

Board

B + C + O

22-Jun

Affordable Housing
• Investment Characteristics Affordable Housing
• Investment Fundamentals - Supply/Demand Drivers
• Risk/Return characteristics across housing sub sectors
• Investment fundamentals for Build to Rent
• Investment fundamentals for Shared Ownership
• Case Studies for Shared Ownership
• Conclusion

Cllrs Taylor, Redstone, Hollidge

 

B

22-Jun

LGPS Local Pension Board Members. latest updates on governance and the LGPS from key industry players.: Scheme Advisory Board update; DLUHC update; tPR update; Triennial Valuations; Legal update

 

Neil

B + C + O

30-Sep

TPR’s new single code of practice

Cllrs Taylor, Redstone (v*), Hollidge (v)

Ray, Neil (v)

C + O

6-7 Oct

Trustee Senate Autumn 2022, Keeping Clarity in Challenging Times
To be covered: single code, the pensions dashboard and TCFD reporting and more.

Cllr Taylor

 

C + O

12-Oct

Pension Fund Accounts and The Pensions Landscape
The Pensions Landscape: Rulemaking and regulatory environment.
Mike will be providing an overview of a selection of key departments and other organisations we engage with or have an impact on the Fund.
Pension Fund Accounts: A guide to the Pension Fund’s financial statements
In this training session, Russell will provide you with an overview of the accounts, taking you through their production and providing insight into what the information within the accounts can tell us about the Fund.

Cllr Redstone, Taylor

Lynda, Neil

New Mem

18-Oct

FUNDAMENTALS 2022 Day 1 – Legal Framework of the LGPS

 

Neil

C + O

16-Nov

SPS Local Authority Pension Investment & Current Issues - LGPS pools, funds and industry organisations

Cllr Redstone, Taylor

 

New Mem

22-Nov

FUNDAMENTALS 2022 -Day 2 – LGPS Investments

 

Neil

New Mem

20-Dec

FUNDAMENTALS 2022 Day 3 – Duties and Responsibilities

 

Neil

*(v) via video

 

Highlighted items are Officers led training

Names in blue – registered to attend future events

 

As of time of writing, the Board and Committee combined have been invited to 67 training events. This number includes:

·         7 invitations for new members only

·         7 Officers led trainings