Issue - meetings

Report of the Chief Financial Officer to present the statutory Annual Pension Fund Report for the year ended 31 March 2009.

The Chief Financial Officer presented the Annual Pension Fund Report for the year ended 31 March 2009, which formed part of the audit process now that the Pension Fund accounts were audited separately. The accounts presented in the annual report were the same as previously reported to the Committee and had now been signed off by the Auditors. The information contained within the report had been presented to the Committee at previous meetings, but there remained a further statutory requirement for the Annual Report to be presented for formal approval by the Committee, which was the purpose of this report. It was confirmed that this was a new requirement following from the separate audit of the Pension Fund accounts, and that a similar report would be produced on an annual basis.

The Committee asked about the requirement for the Pension Fund to aim to be fully funded, and it was confirmed that this was a Government requirement under current regulations. The Chief Financial Officer reported that changes to this requirement were among the options being explored by CLG as a way of easing pressure on pension schemes.  It was noted that there was a 20-year deficit recovery scheme in place for the Haringey Pension Fund, and that this would be reviewed in detail as part of the actuarial valuation process. The Committee enquired about the significance of the reference to the Council as a statutory body with tax raising powers, and it was confirmed that this was to differentiate from those bodies who only contributed to the scheme for a shorter period. The Committee asked what the position was in respect of the merger between CoNEL and Enfield College, and it was confirmed that negotiations were ongoing between actuaries regarding the value of the transfer. As CoNEL was the larger of the two bodies, it was confirmed that current Enfield College members would be joining the Haringey Pension Scheme.

In response to a request for clarification of the bullet points under the Basis of Preparation heading in the report, Mr Duck advised that the change from mid-market prices for investments to bid prices had had a negative impact on the Fund, and that as there had been no derivatives in the previous year, the impact of the change in the way these were valued was not yet known. It was clarified that figures relating to schools did not include teaching staff, who were part of a different Pension Scheme.

RESOLVED

That the Annual Pension Fund Report for the year ended 31 March 2009 be adopted.