Agenda item

(a)        Communications Policy

            Report of the County Treasurer (CT/16/81), attached.

(b)        Funding Strategy Statement

            Report of the County Treasurer (CT/16/82), attached.

(a)        Communications Policy

The Board considered the Report of the County Treasurer (CT/16/81) together with the Communications Policy most recently updated and approved by the Investment & Pension Fund Committee, in 2015. 

It set out the Pension Fund’s policies relating to the provision of information and publicity to members, their representatives and employing authorities and key organisations and summarised, inter alia, the format, frequency and method of distributing such information or publicity. The policy reflected the value placed by the Pension Fund on communications and the professional expertise available to it. The Board was advised that the Plan had, during 2015/16, also received a good level of assurance from the Devon Audit Partnership.    

Members noted that this was one of four statutory statements the Fund was required to have in place which the Board was required to scrutinise and comment upon to the Council’s Investment & Pension Fund Committee.

In reviewing operational aspects of this matter, Board Members sought assurances that Peninsula Pension’s  Quarterly Newsletter was indeed made available to fund members as indicated in  the Annual Report through, for example, the County Council’s internal ‘Insider’ staff newsletter.

It was MOVED by Councillor Greenslade, SECONDED by Councillor Randall Johnson, and

RESOLVED that the Report be noted and the Communication Policy be endorsed.

(b)       Funding Strategy Statement

The Board considered the Report of the County Treasurer (CT/16/82) together with the Funding Strategy Statement most recently updated and approved by the Investment & Pension Fund Committee in  September 2014 and previously reviewed by the Pension Board in October 2015. The Statement outlined the Pension Fund’s funding objectives and the management of the cost of the benefits provided under the Local Government Pension Scheme and the objectives/strategy for setting employer contribution rates.

The Statement had been prepared in accordance with Regulation 58 of the Local Government Pension Scheme Regulations 2013 and was due to be revised in 2017 - after the 2016 Actuarial Valuation - to ensure it reflected any significant changes to funding assumptions arising therefrom. That revised statement would necessarily be presented to the Board for review.

Members noted that this was one of four statutory statements the Fund was required to have in place which the Board was required to scrutinise and comment upon to the Council’s Investment & Pension Fund Committee.

In reviewing related operational matters, Board Members drew attention to the emphasis within the Statement to the Funds 'relationship' with employers rather than with members, commenting also on the desirability of the Fund being seen to build ‘trust’ in its members of its financial viability and security (i.e that it was safe to invest their money in the Fund) and that this could usefully be expounded both in this Strategy Statement and the Communications Policy at Minute 22(b) above.

It was MOVED by Councillor Greenslade, SECONDED by Mr Shipp, and

RESOLVED that the current Funding Statement and the process of review be noted subject to the view outlined above also being drawn to the attention of the Investment & Pension Funds Committee.