Pensioner Representative

After nine years on the North Yorkshire Pension Board and several years prior to that on the North Yorkshire Pension Advisory Panel, I have decided to resign from my position as the North Yorkshire Pensioner Representative. A new Pensioner Representative will be appointed at the next meeting of the Pension Board and a further update will be added to this page in due course. May I thank you all for your support over the last twelve years. It’s been a privilege to represent you.

The Border to Coast Pensions Partnership (BCPP) is now up and running. NYC pension investments are now being gradually transferred to the Pool. The BCPP recently agreed its Strategic Plan for 2019/2020 which shows the budget for 2019/2020 to be £12.6m and £13.2m for 2020/2021. It also has a project budget of £1.6m. The Scheme member on the Local Authority Panel is Nicholas Wirz of Northumberland CC. He is a non voting member of the Panel.

Councillor John Weighell has resigned his position as an Executive Director on the Board of the Border to Coast Pensions Partnership as it could be in conflict with his responsibilities as Chairman of the North Yorkshire Pension Fund.

The BCPP is now fully up and running having held its first Annual Conference in November 2018. Its offices are in Leeds, has a staff of 60 and an annual budget of over £6 million. It has a potential £46 billion investment budget from the 12 Pension Funds included in the Pool. It has its own website giving details of its structure etc. www.bordertocoast.org.uk

The South Yorkshire Pensions Authority provides administrative support for its meeting. The BCPP agendas and minutes can be found on the South Yorkshire Pensions Authority website.

Recently Councillor John Weighell, Chairman of the North Yorkshire Pension Fund, was appointed as an executive member to the BCPP Board. At present there are no Scheme members i.e. pensioners or employees represented on the BCPP. Pension Boards have been invited to submit potential candidates for a non-voting position on the BCPP Joint Committee.

On the 15th February 2017 North Yorkshire Council approved the North Yorkshire Pension Fund (NYPF) formally joining the Border to Coast Pension Pool (BCPP). The other partners in the pool are:

• South Yorkshire Pension Fund (including South Yorkshire Transport Fund)
• Teesside Pension Fund
• Cumbria Pension Fund
• Northumberland Pension Fund
• Durham Pension Fund
• East Riding Pension Fund
• Lincolnshire Pension Fund
• Tyne and Wear Pension Fund
• Surrey Pension Fund
• Warwickshire Pension Fund
• Bedfordshire Pension Fund

All the Funds have now obtained approval to join BCPP from their respective Councils.

The BCPP Pool will be a jointly owned asset management company which is regulated by the FCA. It will be situated in Leeds and will provide both internal and external investment management for the 12 Authorities. Over time the majority of the assets of the Pension Funds will be transferred into BCPP. Each Authority is still responsible for its own investment strategy and will retain their fiduciary duty to protect the Fund and its members.

There are considerable start-up costs which the Pension Funds will share. It is expected to take between 2 to 6 years, in respect of the NYPF, to recover those costs. Other Funds have different recovery periods. In the long term it is hoped that the pooling arrangements will provide savings for the Funds. It is also the Government’s wish that the Funds increase their investment in infrastructure projects.

BCPP will have a Chief Executive and a Chair. Staff will be tuped from some of the Partner local authorities and will also be recruited externally.

The intention is for the BCPP to be fully operational in 2018.

Further details of the structure and operation of the BCPP have been provided in the last two Pension Board reports and in previous Pension Fund Committee reports. All of which can be found on the NYC website. Further information about the Pool is also available on the North Yorkshire Pension Fund website .

The government continued with their reforms of the Local Government Pension Scheme when the Chancellor announced in July 2015 that there would be consultation on delivering savings through pooled investment vehicles i.e. funds joining together.

Further guidance has now been published by the Government and proposals have to be submitted by local authorities providing details of proposed mergers addressing certain criteria, namely, asset pools must achieve benefits of scale and be at least £25 billion. There must be strong government and decision making, an improved capacity for investment in infrastructure, reduced costs and excellent value for money. Following this, North Yorkshire Pension Fund Committee (PFC) has submitted initial proposals for a Border to Coast Pensions Partnership. This includes 13 Pension Funds with assets of £36 billion. They have also submitted a response to the Government outlining their concerns about the process. The PFC must submit final details of its arrangements by July this year.

The new arrangements do not affect the PFC responsibilities for the operation and solvency of the Fund.

More detailed information can be found in recent Pension Fund Committee reports.

The Annual Report for 2018/19 has been approved by the Board and will go to the Council on the 13th November 2019. Once approved it will be available on the NYPF website.

The first meeting of the Pension Board was held on the 30 July 2015. The Board replaces the Advisory Panel, but unlike the Panel, which was a voluntary part of the Fund’s governance structure, there is a statutory requirement to have the Board. The Board’s role is to assist the Council, as Administering Authority for the North Yorkshire Pension Fund, in the administration and governance of the Fund. This includes compliance with LGPS legislation and the requirements of the Pensions Regulator. The Terms of Reference of the Board includes supporting and challenging the Pension Fund Committee’s actions as a critical friend. This mirrors in some ways the role of the Advisory Panel.

The Board consists of four members representing the employers, four members representing scheme members and an independent non-voting Chairman. I have been appointed as a scheme member representing pensioners and deferred pensioners. Details and photos of the Pension Board members can found on the Pension Board section of the NYPF website. Unlike the Advisory Panel there will be formal agendas and minutes of meetings which will be published on the NYC website.

The Board is presently working on establishing its future work plan and ensuring that members of the Pension Board receive any training they may need to fulfil their roles.

If there are any issues you wish me to raise with the Board or if you have a query please email pensions@northyorks.gov.uk and put my name in the subject box and I will try to assist.

This page will be updated to keep you informed of any developments as and when they occur.

Following changes in Pension legislation the Council as the Administering Authority has to establish a Pension Board to support the Pension Committee and to exercise a governance role. The Board will replace the Pension Advisory Panel and commence later this year. It will have 4 members representing scheme members ( active, deferred and pensioners ) ,4 members representing the employers and an independent chair. Appointments will be made in the next few months. Information will be provided on the North Yorkshire Pension Fund website.

Remember, if you have any issue around the payment of your pension, my advice is to contact the payroll team (Employment Support Services) on 01609 532190 rather than the Pensions Helpline. This will help you to get your query resolved more speedily, particularly if you think the net amount you have been paid is incorrect.

Finally, although the Everybody Benefits scheme is no longer available, please remember that other schemes that may be of interest are accessible via the Useful Links page on this website.

This legislation was introduced, following the Government Report on Public Service Pensions, that requires each local government pension fund to have a Pensions Board in place by April 1st 2015. In our case, the role of the Board is to assist the Council in securing compliance with legislation and any requirements laid down by the Pensions Regulator.

Rather than merge the Pensions Board into the Pension Fund Committee, it has been decided that a separate Board will be created. This will clearly affect the position of the present Pensions Advisory Panel who advise the Pensions Committee on similar matters. Therefore the intention is that the Advisory Panel will be wound up.

The details regarding the establishment of the Pensions Board will be finalised by the Pension Fund Committee in September. One requirement is that the Board must have equal numbers of employer and employee representatives. I am hoping that pensioners will be represented as part of the employee members category in view of their contributions made to the assets of the fund during their employment, as they are presently represented on the Advisory Panel. I shall be making this proposal to the Advisory Panel and the county council in due course.

There are a number of things to be aware of at the moment. Firstly, you may well have heard by now that the scheme has changed from 1st April 2014. This won’t, however, have any effect at all on the pension you currently receive from the North Yorkshire Pension Fund (NYPF).

Also, the annual increase to our local government pensions was 2.7% from 7 April 2014 and you should have received more details about this in March. If you didn’t receive a copy of Pensions Focus from NYPF, it may be because they hold an out of date address for you. Please have a look at your on-line record, elsewhere on this website, to check. You can also update your address there yourself if necessary.