Issue - meetings

(a)       That the report be noted;

(b)       That the Committee is satisfied with the degree of assurance afforded to them by officers during the presentation;

(c)       That the officer team be thanked for their work to significantly improve the position of the Clwyd Pension Fund; and

(d)       That the Clwyd Pension Fund provide biannual progress updates for the Committee.

The Chief Executive introduced a report to explain the relationship between the Clwyd Pension Fund and Flintshire County Council as an employer within the Fund along with the types of financial contributions made.  The report also detailed the outcome of the triennial actuarial valuation which impacted positively on the Council’s 2020/21 budget.

The Clwyd Pension Fund Manager, Corporate Finance Manager and Fund Actuary from Mercer (Paul Middleman) gave a joint presentation covering the following:

·         How the Pension Fund works

·         Overview of the Actuarial Review 2019

·         Types of Contributions

·         Impact of the Actuarial Valuation 2019

During the presentation, a flowchart demonstrated how the Fund worked with spans of control indicated by a green, amber or red status.  By carefully balancing risk against return, investment returns had increased significantly above the target level which had contributed to the significant reduction in the deficit position of the Fund.

The Fund Actuary described the actuarial review process as scrutinising the level of investments in order to pay benefits, balanced with risk.  Aside from complying with regulatory requirements, one of the key components was to ensure the quality of data which could impact on liabilities.  Key outcomes from the valuation indicated that improved performance of the Fund had resulted in increased average funding levels from 76% at 2016 to 91% at 2019 with the repayment deficit more than halved from £437m at 2016 to £177m at 2019.

The Corporate Finance Manager said that the outcome of the valuation had resulted in a net reduction of 4% in employer contributions which equated to a total saving of £2.646m to the Council budget 2020/21.

The Chief Executive reminded Members that Clwyd Pension Fund Committee agendas were available on the Council’s website.  His suggestion that the Corporate Resources Overview & Scrutiny Committee receive biannual progress reports on the Clwyd Pension Fund was supported.

Councillor Jones welcomed the positive outcomes for the Council budget.  In response to questions, the Chief Executive spoke about the risk appetite and the objective to achieve assets equal to 100% of liabilities within the 13 year timeframe.  The Fund Actuary described the Fund’s governance structure as ‘forward-thinking’ to adapt to changes and he referred to continued monitoring outside the valuation cycle.

In response to a question from Councillor Johnson, the roles and responsibilities of the Chief Executive and Corporate Finance Manager were clarified in respect of the Fund.

At the end of the discussion, Councillor Jones proposed that the Clwyd Pension Fund Committee, Chief Executive and officers be thanked for their work.  Members supported the Chief Executive’s suggestion that the forthcoming presentation to Council note the Committee’s satisfaction with the degree of assurance over the Pension Fund figures.

The revised recommendations were moved by Councillor Jones and seconded by Councillor Bateman.

RESOLVED:

(a)       That the report be noted;

(b)       That the Committee is satisfied with the degree of assurance afforded to them by officers during the presentation;

(c)       That the officer team be thanked for their work to significantly improve the position  ...  view the full minutes text for item 80