Minutes of Proceedings

Meeting of the NIAMPS Trustee Board held in Room 278 on Wednesday 2 October 2024 at 10:00am

Present:

• Dr S Aiken OBE (Chair)
• Mr T Clarke
• Mr S Dickson
• Ms C Ferguson

In attendance:

Ms S Murphy (NIA), Mr G Browne (NIA), Mr N Burns (Scheme Secretary), Mr M Pekacar, Mr C Ward, Mr R Campbell (for item 3.1.4)

1. STANDARD BUSINESS

1.1 Apologies

Mrs P McClintock

1.2 Conflicts of interest

There were no conflicts of interest.

1.3 Minutes of the Meeting on 1 May 2024

Approved.

1.4 Matters Arising

None.

2. CONSENT ITEMS

2.1 None.

3. KEY REPORTS FOR DISCUSSION

3.1 Investment

3.1.1 – Investment Governance

Mr Ward provided the Trustees with an overview of their responsibilities in aiming to ensure that there are sufficient assets in the Scheme to pay the benefits of today and protect the benefits of tomorrow.

Mr Ward explained the Role of the Trustee in setting the investment strategy and explained the current investment allocation.

Action: The Trustees agreed to review the level of risk at the next meeting and to decide on any changes to the asset allocation.

3.1.2 – Draft Statement of Investment Principles

Mr Ward presented the Draft Statement of Investment Principles (SIP), noting that it sets out the investment strategy, including the investment objectives and investment policies that they adopt.

Action: The Trustees agreed to review the SIP and provide their points of clarity within fourteen days.

3.1.3 – Investment monitoring report

Mr Ward outlined the key themes from the report for the quarter to the end of June 2024, noting that whilst the Scheme’s assets had grown in value in the quarter, not all funds produced a positive return.

Mr Ward also noted the appointment of the new CEO at Abrdn Group, and that the long lead-in time is reassuring given the company’s recent restructure and cost cutting, as the firm repositioned itself for a market where passive investment is increasingly the norm.

3.1.4 – Investment Strategy

The Trustees welcomed Mr Campbell to the meeting in his role as Investment Director at Abrdn.

Mr Campbell provided the Trustees with a comprehensive analysis of the Abrdn Group, noting how they are uniquely positioned to deliver the optimal investment solution for the Scheme.

Mr Campbell outlined the current fund selection for the Scheme and the Trustees agreed to work with Mr Campbell to discuss further fund options on an active and passive basis as the Scheme needs evolve.

3.2 Actuarial – Update on valuation timetable

Mr Pekacar updated the Trustees on the valuation timetable and noted that the initial valuation results will be available for discussion at the next Trustee meeting.

3.3 Legal issues

Ms Murphy informed the Trustees that as part of the current administration agreement, the Finance office provides assistance to Isio for the calculation of Members’ benefits. Through this on-going work, some legacy issues have been identified. As the Finance Office has only laterally been assisting with the administration of the Scheme, it was timely that legal advice was sought to address some of these legacy issues. The purpose of requesting the legal advice was to seek clarity on key definitions and to ensure that the Scheme Rules have been consistently applied following the introduction of each version of the Scheme.

The legacy issues relate to Reckonable Service, and the calculation of Officeholder Contribution factors in the Final Salary section of the Scheme. The third issue relates to the Inflationary Increases used to annually revalue the accrued pension benefit for members in the CARE section of the Scheme.

Action: Ms Murphy to liaise with counterparts in Wales and Scotland to understand the practices applied in the Welsh Parliament and the Scottish Parliament.

3.4 Scheme Accounts

Ms Murphy provided the Trustees with a high-level overview of the Report and Financial Statements (the ‘Accounts’). The Trustees agreed to review the Accounts and provide their points of clarity within fourteen days. Following this, the Accounts will be issued to the Auditor at the end of October.

Action: Ms Murphy to issue the Accounts to the Auditor at the end of October.

3.5 Administration

3.5.1 – Pensions Dashboards

Mr Burns provided the Trustees with an update on Pensions Dashboards and an explanation of the areas that need to be considered to ensure the Scheme is ready for Pensions Dashboards.

Action: Mr Burns to provide confirmation of the fees associated with preparing the Scheme for Pensions Dashboards.

3.5.2 – Pension Sharing on Divorce case

Ms Murphy provided an update on the Pension Sharing on Divorce case and confirmed that the payment had been released to the Receiving Scheme.

Ms Murphy confirmed that legal advice had been obtained regarding the options available to the Trustees in reclaiming the overpayment that has arisen in this case.

The Trustees agreed that the member should be advised of the options available.

Action: Mr Burns to issue correspondence to the member outlining the options available.

3.5.3 – Annual pensioner declaration

Mr Burns advised that this was an annual exercise to verify the details of Scheme pensioners. The exercise was completed by the Trustees to protect the fund against the overpayment of benefits or fraud.

Mr Burns noted that there were 11 individuals from 2023 and 29 individuals from 2024 who had not yet responded to requests for confirmation of details.

Action: Mr Burns to share a list of the members with the Secretariate team to liaise with the Trustees on the individuals in accordance with party affiliation.

4. AOB

Brewster Judgement & McCloud

Mr Clarke highlighted the lack of progress on this issue due to the absence of the Independent Financial Review Panel. The Trustees agreed to write to the Assembly Commission regarding the impact this is having on these topics.

Action: Trustees to write to the Assembly Commission to highlight the lack of progress.

5. Date of future meetings

The Trustees agreed to liaise with Mr Burns to agree a suitable date for the next meeting.