The Director of West Yorkshire Pension Fund will submit Document “G” which provides the West Yorkshire Pension Fund’s financial position for the year ended 31 March 2018.  The accounts have been prepared in accordance with:

·         CIPFA Code of Practice on Local Authority Accounting in the United Kingdom 2017/18

·         CIPFA Guidance on Accounting for Local Government Pension Scheme Management Costs.

·         Pensions Statement of Recommended Practice 2007

·         International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), as amended for the UK public sector

Recommended-

That the West Yorkshire Pension Fund Audited Report and Accounts for 2017/18 be approved.

                                                                        (Ola Ajala – 01274 434534)

The Director of West Yorkshire Pension Fund submitted Document “G” which provided the West Yorkshire Pension Fund’s financial position for the year ended 31 March 2018.  The accounts had been prepared in accordance with:

·         CIPFA Code of Practice on Local Authority Accounting in the United Kingdom 2017/18

·         CIPFA Guidance on Accounting for Local Government Pension Scheme Management Costs.

·         Pensions Statement of Recommended Practice 2007

·         International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), as amended for the UK public sector

It was reported that the value of the Fund as at 31 March 2018 was £13,566.6m, a net decrease of £65.7m, 0.5%, compared to the asset value at 31 March 2017 of £13,632.3m; the reduction in value was mainly due to a large scale bulk transfer in October 2017 of assets estimated at £450m to Greater Manchester Pension Fund (GMPF) for FirstGroup West Yorkshire; there was a corresponding transfer of liabilities (which do not appear on the balance sheet) estimated at £482m, the net impact was an improved funding position for WYPF.

Members were informed that the actuarial valuation at 31 March 2016 determined that the funding level was 94% one of the highest funding levels within LGPS (Local Government Pension Scheme) in the last valuation; following the large transfer of assets and liabilities to GMPF, an updated funding report at 31 March 2018 was requested from Aon (professional services firm that provides risk, retirement and health consulting), which indicated that the fund was now 107% funded; this improvement was principally due to the strong financial markets since the 2016 valuation; as this was merely an updated funding level, it would not provide any cashflow benefit to employers; if the markets remained steady to 31 March 2019 this should result in employers’ contributions continuing at current levels, however investment markets may go up or down.

It was reported that the Fund continued to have a positive net cashflow of £309.1m (2017 was £240.8m), once the exceptional bulk transfer of £450m to GMPF was added back.

Members were informed that the 2017/18 annual cost of administering the West Yorkshire Pension Fund per member was £14.35, investment management cost per member was £21.11, oversight and governance cost per member was £1.91 and the total management cost per member was £37.37; these figures compared favourably with the average cost for authorities, West Yorkshire Pension Fund having the lowest cost per member.

In response to Members questions the Director of West Yorkshire Pension Fund reported that:

·         Members were being encouraged to sign up to online communications to view their pension record statements, update personal details etc  but the service would continue with paper based systems.

·         Employer contributions came down if the value of the fund increased significantly; more safety needed to be built in before contributions were reduced.

·         Employer contributions detailed in Section 5 of the report included deferred and retired member liability which had not been fully met.

·         WYPF with other Local Authorities passed a resolution that certain companies publish their plans to meet the Paris Climate Change Agreement.

Resolved-

That the West Yorkshire Pension Fund Audited Report and Accounts for 2017/18 be approved.

(The above resolution was agreed after Members had considered the External Audits Audit Completion Report of West Yorkshire Pension Fund)