Agenda and minutes

To receive any apologies for absence received.

There were no apologies for absence received.

To elect a Chairman of the Pension Board in accordance with the Terms of Reference until the first meeting of the Board following the 2021 HIWFRA AGM.

Nominations were invited for the role of Chairman of the Pension Board in accordance with the Terms of Reference until the first meeting of the Board following the 2021 HIWFRA AGM.

Stew Adamson was proposed and seconded.

To elect a Vice-Chairman of the Pension Board in accordance with the Terms of Reference until the first meeting of the Board following the 2021 HIWFRA AGM.

Nominations were invited for the role of Vice-Chairman of the Pension Board in accordance with the Terms of Reference until the first meeting of the Board following the 2021 HIWFRA AGM.

Richard North was proposed and seconded.

To enable Members to disclose to the meeting any disclosable pecuniary interest they may have in any matter on the agenda for the meeting, where that interest is not already entered in the Authority’s register of interests, and any other pecuniary or non-pecuniary interests in any such matter that Members may wish to disclose.

Members were mindful of their duty to disclose at the meeting any Disclosable Pecuniary Interest they had in any matter on the agenda for the meeting, where that interest was not already in the Authority’s register of interests, and their ability to disclose any other personal interests in any such matter that they might have wished to disclose.

No interests were declared.

To receive and note the minutes of the last meeting of the HFRA Firefighters’ Pension Board and the minutes of the last meeting of the Isle of Wight Fire Authority Fire Fighters Pension Board.

The minutes of the previous meetings of the HFRA Firefighters’ Pension Board and the Isle of Wight Fire Authority Fire Fighters Pension Board were reviewed and agreed.

To receive any deputations to this meeting.

There were no deputations on this occasion.

To receive any announcements the Chairman may wish to make.

The Chairman, Stew Adamson, thanked Board Members for electing him as Chairman for the meeting.

The Chairman invited Board Members to join in a few moments of silence to pay respects to His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh who passed away at Windsor Castle on Friday 9 April.

To receive and note the Terms of Reference for the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Authority Firefighters’ Pension Board.

The Board received and noted the Terms of Reference for the HIWFRA Firefighters’ Pension Board at its inaugural meeting.

RESOLVED:

That the HIWFRA Firefighters’ Pension Board received and noted the Terms of Reference for the Board.

To receive a verbal update on the Scheme Advisory Board.

There were no formal updates for this meeting.

To receive the Fire Pension Board Annual Report for 2020/21.

The Board received a report of the Chief Finance Officer which set out the work of the Pension Board throughout 2020/21 (Item 10 in the Minute Book).  Members heard that the annual report encompassed the work of the Hampshire Firefighters’ Pension Board, and Officers would look to include some information on the Isle of Wight Firefighters’ Pension Board before submission to the Standards and Governance Committee.

RESOLVED:

That the annual report was agreed for submission to the HIWFRA Standards and Governance Committee with the inclusion of further information on the Isle of Wight Firefighters’ Pension Board.

To receive a report providing an update on legislation and the Local Government Association.

The Board received an update report of the Chief Finance Officer on Legislation and the Local Government Association (LGA) (Item 11 in the Minute Book).

The Chief Finance Officer highlighted key issues, and drew Members attention to paragraph 14 of the report which detailed the Schedule 22 Appeal Judgement.  It was heard that the judgement would mean a significant change in increasing the number of people that Immediate Detriment remedy can be applied to, as this would now be applicable for all upcoming retirements.  It was explained that the change to this legislation came quickly, and any pension scheme member with plans to retire imminently should contact pensions services so officers could undertake preparatory work around the application of Immediate Detriment.  Officers would also explore further communications on this topic.

RESOLVED:

That the content of the report was noted by the HIWFRA Firefighters' Pension Board.

To receive an update on the development of key issues and to review the Risk Register.

The Board received a report which provided an update on ongoing issues (Item 12 in the Minute Book). The report was introduced and key issues were highlighted to Members of the Board.

The report was introduced and Officers led Board Members through the report highlighting the development of key issues.  It was heard that in relation to communication, there had been one online pre-retirement presentation and two online presentations to new recruits.  Officers drew Board Members attention to registration to the Member Portal and it was heard that there had been an increase in registration to 38%.  A discussion ensued on this topic and it was noted that there would be communication to encourage more registration at regular intervals, and officers would also look into other options to make information on registration more visible online. 

In relation to the McCloud/Sargeant remedy, the four main points of communication to pension members were explained as highlighted in paragraph 28 of the report.  Attention was drawn to paragraphs 30 – 35 of the report which detailed the work involved in the McCloud project, and the table at paragraph 35 which set out the work needed to be undertaken over the next few months.  For comparison purposes, the table showed work to be undertaken for the Police and Fire schemes, but future reports would just detail information relating to the Fire scheme.

The topic of Immediate Detriment was presented as set out in the report at paragraphs 36 – 43.  It was heard that out of the cases assessed so far, these had all been straightforward.  A discussion ensued about Immediate Detriment and the communication given to members around this issue and it was agreed that it would be helpful to put out some communications which would help to explain the complexities of the issue and the process needed to be undertaken.  The Chairman would also talk to the Communications team around future communications on this subject.

Officers highlighted the risk of McCloud on the Risk Register and this was currently the risk area with the highest risk score.  Officers highlighted the additional capacity needed to undertake McCloud work, and that pensions services had been planning around this for some time and would hire additional ‘Business as Usual’ officers which would free up more skilled experienced officers to work on McCloud. 

RESOLVED:

i)          That the content of the report were noted by the HIWFRA Firefighters' Pension Board.

ii)         That the Risk Register as set out in paragraphs 26-27 and Appendix B be approved by the HIWFRA Firefighters' Pension Board.