SUMMARY

North West Regional Police Pension Board 

Wednesday 1 March 2023
via Microsoft Teams/ Face to Face 
1300 – 1600

ATTENDEES:	FIONA DALEY (CHAIR),	CHERYL CHADWICK/JOHN TWISS (GMP, SME)	JUDITH WEST (CHESHIRE, BOARD MEMBER)	
	IAN COSH (GMP, DEPUTY CHAIR),	ANN DOBINSON (CUMBRIA, BOARD MEMBER)	STUART PARRY (POLICE FED)
	
	TONY WILKINSON (LANCS, SME)	SARAH IRVINE (MERSEY SIDE SME)	TARA JONES (GMP, SECRETARY TO THE BOARD)	
	IAN RENNIE(NARPO)	DIANE LISTER / JULIE WIGG (LANCS, SME)		

APOLOGIES: CLARE ALCOCK, KEITH DICKINSON, JENNIFER PENNIFOLD.

2.	Minutes & Actions
No comments or queries on the minutes which were accepted as a true record of last meeting

ACTION – Tony W – will ask LPP to nominate a representative for future meetings
		Jo Derbyshire said she will attend – TW will contact her again.

ACTION – Tara to invite SAB representative to attend future NWPPB meeting.
		. 
Action – Ian Cosh to contact Steve Freeman regarding PCC representation and also chief Superintendent Richard Robertshaw regarding Superintendents’ Association.

On matters arising there was discussion with board members regarding the recent letter from CC Jeremy Vaughan & survey on Pensions Administration. The consensus of the board is that the Governance of the scheme and having 43 scheme managers is not helpful – a central pensions body would assist however, there was a recognition that the detailed implications in terms of costs, financial savings and governance arrangements need to be clearly set out.
Ian Rennie said that NARPO were also being consulted and he would feed in observations of the NW Pension Board.
All 5 forces will get their return in by the 7 March 2023 deadline.

3.	Current Police Pension Issues
Clare Alcock was unable to join meeting – therefore unable to give an update.

	Points raised by the board:
o	Remedy is still a big issue – still a lot of work to be done to take this forward.
o	Receiving a lot of information from NPCC which forces are trying to pull together into a project plan – how to address the remedy / how to communicate.
o	Resourcing the project plan – main challenge is the data return.
o	Ill health retirements / understanding officer who may retire around October are a concern in terms of the precise impacts on them.
o	Cost of the ill health retirements / medical practitioners assessment is a real financial burden.
o	Auto enrollment to be fully implemented by October 2023
o	Home Office are suspending regulation 36 for new joiners until further notice.

ACTION –  in relation to the costs associated with ill health retirements and the remedy work Diane Lister to contact Nick Barker (NPCC) to see if it is worth collating the costs regionally in order to inform the costs of this and to use it to seek potential funding from the Home Office for this.

4.	Issues from member representatives
Nothing raised

5.	Pension Administrator Update
Paul Mudd not at the meeting – find out where Paul is up to with the below action:

ACTION – Paul M to explain how will XPS manage risk of data breach with the launch of the new self-services? -XPS to send out a brief on their security – steps that are taken / training, in the event of a data breach. Paul to bring back information to the next meeting.

6.	Force Quarterly Updates

a.	Thematic Review – Opt-Out rates 
o	Rates are higher than would like to see – concern with new student officers
o	Possibly an opportunity to consider bringing student officers in at a different rate.
o	The range across the regional forces is 4-7% for Opt-Out. 
o	The Board felt that there was a range of steps being taken by Scheme Managers to promote officers staying in the Pension Scheme.  There was some discussion around the various activities and sharing of this.
o	John Twiss highlighted difference between XPS data and Force data on opt-out rates. Ann Dobinson confirmed similar issues in Cumbria and will share with John her reconciliation of the differences.

7.	Review matters to be included in the 2023 annual report
o	Strong Governance now in the region comprised of:
o	Regular NWPPB meetings being well attended
o	Tony Wilkinson’s providing direct link to national Scheme Managers Group
o	Clare Alcock’s input at our meetings
o	Network through the various member reps
o	Oversight of KPIs Forces operate to
o	Risk Register
o	Quarterly Returns
o	Collective approach to the 2 Pension administrators & sharing of issues

8.	AOB

Ian Rennie mentioned an email received from the Home Office Pension Team launching a formal consultation on the amendments to the Police Pension Scheme –

1.amending the scheme rules to remove the impact of transitional protection during the remedy period and introducing provisions to allow members to make a choice of which benefits should apply for the period of the remedy,
2.	retrospective changes to regulations to correct any overpayment or underpayment of pension benefits or member contributions. This includes benefits or contributions paid to or by a member because of their choice and
3.	other areas where we are considering whether further amendments to the regulations may be needed, beyond those in the published draft Statutory Instrument being consulted on.
Action: Scheme Managers to be aware. Consultation will close on the 23 May 2023

Ian Cosh – GMP have been offering a retire & re-engage scheme with non-abatement of pensions. This scheme has now closed.

Ann Dobinson – Changes to the pension scheme for part – time working.

Date of next meeting:

1 June 2023