Russia/Ukraine

As a result of the shocking events around Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, there have been a number of enquiries around both the Devon and Somerset Pension Funds’ investments in Russia. Both Funds have an investment in the Emerging Markets Fund managed by the Brunel Pension Partnership, which included a small proportion of Russian investments. As the crisis unfolded, Brunel instructed their managers, where practical, to disinvest from all Russian-controlled and Russian-owned assets. Where possible this has been done. Due to market conditions (e.g. suspension of the Moscow stock exchange), managers are unable to dispose of some positions at present, but they have been instructed to do so at the earliest opportunity. In practice these remaining investments now have zero value.

A full copy of Brunel’s statement can be found on their website.

New LGPS member website and brand

The Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) has refreshed its brand identity and launched a new member website and new LGPS brand. The website has been updated to improve the user experience and make it easier for members to understand their pension. The address of the website has not changed – it is still www.lgpsmember.org. More details can be found within their Information leaflet.

We would be grateful if you would help publicise the new site to your members.

Opportunity to be an employer representative on the Devon Pension Board

The Devon Pension Board is responsible for the scrutiny of the operation of the Devon Pension Fund. The board consists of an equal number of member and employer representatives, alongside one independent member.

The Board meets four times a year with at least one of those meetings being in person in Exeter.  Regular training is provided and you will be expected to attend all meetings and commit to fulfilling the training requirements. Your travel expenses for attending meetings and training events will be met by the Pension Fund.

For more details on the Pension Fund and the Board, please see the Fund’s annual report. 

To meet the aim of ensuring broad representation from employers and scheme members priority will be assigned in appointing an employer representative from one of the large constituent groups amongst the Fund’s employers, such as the education sector or community admission group.

If you would like to apply for the role, please email charlotte.thompson@devon.gov.uk with your contact details and a brief statement of no more than 500 words outlining how you meet the following criteria for selection, and confirmation from the Pension Fund’s senior contact for your employer (if that is not you) that they authorise you being that employer’s representative.

• Able to represent all scheme employers
• Has the capacity to be a member of the Pension Fund Board
• Excellent communication and listening skills and the ability to work as part of a group
• Good analytical skills, an aptitude for taking on new information and a commitment to continuous personal development
• Highly numerate, ideally with a background in the financial sector
• An awareness of pension fund and investment issues
• Has no conflict of interest

The deadline for applications is Friday 22^nd April 2022

REMINDER - Pension Fund Triennial Valuation 2022

As mentioned in January's edition, Please ensure your data is submitted to our Annual Return mailbox by 14^th April 2022.

The Annual Return template for 2021/22 is on our website and remains unchanged from last year.

As 2022 is a Valuation year it is ever more important that we receive your Annual Return data as soon as possible, in order that we can capture all your member information and ensure we meet the actuarial deadline.

Reminder - Revised leaver forms following the 2021 Pay Award for Local Government Services

You will not be able to load any revised forms to ESS as you will no longer have access to the records so we ask that you follow the process outlined in March's Special edition.

Keep us updated

Please remember to keep us updated with any changes in staff responsible for completing our forms (authorised signatories). This can be done by completing our online form.

You can also use this form to notify us of your IDRP Stage 1 Appeals Officer, your Payroll Provider, your contact for Interfaces and to sign up to our employer newsletter Pensions Line

It is important that you contact the Employer & Communications Team if you are changing your payroll provider. We can then work with you to ensure you put processes in place to retain access to historical payroll information and continue to fulfil your responsibilities as a Scheme employer.

Payment of Pension Fund Contributions

Please remember to inform us and the relevant Finance team each time you have paid your pension scheme contributions, by filling in the Monthly Contributions Form. The form should be submitted the same day as the payment. This avoids unnecessary allocation delays and satisfies Government Actuary Department requirements.

Please ensure that you build this form into your procedures.

If you are a Somerset Pension Fund employer, please contact the Corporate Finance Team for a copy of the Monthly Contribution Return: Corporatefinancepens@somerset.gov.uk

If you are a Devon Pension Fund Employer, you will need to use the online EAS5 form. 

TUPEs & New Academies

If you are outsourcing services and have a number of staff who will be subject to TUPE and moving to a new employer or your school is converting to an Academy or moving MAT, you will need to consider obligations regarding the affected employees’ pension rights. Please do not submit any leaver forms as this will complicate the process – for more information on what you need to do, please visit the TUPE and Admitted Bodies page on our website.

Contacts

Employer & Communications Team

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