London Pensions Fund Authority
Fund Member Forum
2013
Welcome &
Introduction
Sir Merrick Cockell
LPFA Deputy Chairman
Presentation Agenda
LGPS 2014
•
A new Local Government Pension Scheme
•
LPFA involvement in shaping the regulations
LPFA Review of the Year
•
Improving our service to you
•
Investment highlights
•
Controlling costs
•
Expanding the business
•
Governance
•
What’s on the horizon
The LPFA Board
•
Board structure
•
Board responsibilities
Call for Evidence and vision for the LPFA
•
Too big? Too small? Just right?
•
Vision for the LPFA
Question & Answer Session
LGPS 2014
•
An overview of the LGPS 2014
LGPS 2014 - Overview
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Moving from Final Salary to C.A.R.E scheme
•
1/49th accrual
•
CPI revaluation
•
Pension age linked to State Pension Age (min 65)
•
Voluntary retirement from 55
•
Protection for pre 2014 service and underpin for those within 10 years of
age NPA at April 2012
LGPS 2014 - Overview
•
Part time worker contribution rates assessed on actual pensionable pay
(not full time equivalent) – so many will pay less
•
50/50 option
•
Can purchase additional pension via APC or AVC
•
Existing pensioner and deferred members – no change
Governance
•
Responsible Authority is CLG
•
Scheme Advisory Board
•
Scheme Manager and Pension Board
LPFA and LGA working in
partnership
•
LPFA have responded to all consultation
documents for LGPS 2014
•
LPFA is a member of the ‘LGPS 2014
Administration Group’ hosted by the LGA
•
LPFA was involved in the discussions about the
LGPS governance structure under the Public
Service Pension act.
•
The LPFA is working with the LGA to develop
LGPS2014 Scheme modellers for members
•
The LPFA is working with the LGA to develop a
series of educational videos promoting the new
pension
Susan Martin
The LPFA
Board
Dermot ‘Skip’ McMullan
LPFA Board Member
LPFA Board
LPFA Corporate Management
Team (CMT)
LPFA Committees
Board Responsibilities
The governance of the LPFA is through the operation of its Board and Committees
The Board is responsible for:
• the governance of the London Pensions Fund Authority in accordance with statutory regulations;
• the submission of a Strategy Statement and a Budget Statement to the Mayor each year;
• the issue of a levy each year under the regulations; and
• directing and monitoring the Executive; this incorporates the investment strategy, the pensions
administration function and all support services.
The Board has a fiduciary duty to:
• participating employers and the members of the Fund to ensure contributions are collected, that
benefits are calculated correctly and paid promptly, and that any surplus monies are properly and
prudently invested; and
• the council tax payers of Greater London in respect of expenditure falling to be met from the levy.
and is accountable to:
• the Mayor and the GLA for the proper management of the Authority's affairs;
• the employing authorities in the Fund for the proper administration of the Scheme; and
• Agency clients for the operation of their administration contracts.
Call for
Evidence and
vision for the
LPFA
Edmund Truell
LPFA Chairman
Too Big? Too Small? Just Right?
Bankrupt
•
In Clink?
Bank of England Pension Fund
•
Total contribution level in 2011
•
•
56.5% of pensionable salaries
Closed fund
LGPS Assets and Liabilities
•
Risk free basis (2010)
Actuarial basis (2010)
•
Failing funds
•
Assets
£150bn
£150bn
•
Low solvency – 11 funds <70%, lowest 60%
= only 35% on swaps based liabilities
•
Higher employer contribution rates –
12 funds >23%, highest 29.9%
Liabilities
£300bn
£200bn
Pooling LGPS ALM –
key advantages
•
Scale gives access to better liability management
•
Economies of scale in fund investment
•
Scale gives access to long term investment
opportunities
•
Economies of scale in fund administration
Pooling LGPS Fund Administration
•
London
− PwC estimate savings £10 million per annum
− Audit Commission - savings of £34m per annum if at level of average
metropolitan fund
•
PwC LGPS
Core administration costs
per scheme member
County Fund
Metropolitan Fund
London Fund
LPFA
•
•
£24
£22
£53
£70
ATP Denmark - €11 per member per annum (2011)
PGGM Holland - €75 cost per participant (2012)
Total costs
per scheme member
£93
£55
£179
£393
Pooling LGPS –
Reducing fees
•
Financial Times research
• Some councils paying 3 x more fund manger fees than those of similar
size
•
A quarter of funds with the most expensive investment management
paid for more than four times as much as the quarter of funds with
the cheapest. For an average sized fund, this represents a difference
of £5.5m per year
•
Call for greater transparency. Comparisons are difficult because fees vary
according to different investment strategies. There is no standard or
commonly used definition of what should be incorporated in this number.
•
To make it even more difficult to compare performance, each LGPS fund is
likely to have a different benchmark, given the different liabilities and age
profiles of membership within the funds.
Pooling LGPS Asset Management
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London savings PwC £120 - 200 million p.a
•
Global research (Rotman Institute, Toronto)
−
−
−
−
−
Largest plans outperform smaller ones by 43-50 basis points per year
Up to £0.75bn per annum for LGPS, or £15bn off liabilities
Greater returns in alternative hard to source investments
Internal management costs 3 times less than external management
Private equity and real estate
10.3% p.a improvement in returns direct v funds (Towers Watson)
 11% p.a improvement (Wellcome Trust)

Pooling LGPS –
Better liability management
•
Hedging inflation risk, interest rate risk, longevity
risk
− Only available to larger pools of pensions
− Centre of expertise
•
LGPS funds maturing
− Between 2010 and 2012
− 7% decrease in active membership
− 25% increase in pensioner and deferred
members
Pooling LGPS –
Seeking Real Returns
•
Crucial to get Real + 4% to get to fully funded
•
Direct or co-investment opportunities, not funds
•
Wellcome Trust – illiquid assets outperformed public assets by 25%
over last 5 years
•
Infrastructure
•
Housing for rent or sale
Pooling LGPS –
Bringing it all together
•
Improve expertise
• LGPS relies on external advisers – pay multiple times for same advice
• Very few professional Chief Investment Officer roles
• Few experienced in-house investment teams
•
Improve governance
• Better governed plans having higher scale economies
• Are elected councillors best placed to run pensions schemes, asset and liabilities
matching and managing different asset classes such as Infrastructure?
• Why does every fund manager, IFA, insurer, in the UK have to be professionally
qualified BUT vast sums of public money can be run by untrained people with no
experience and no skills, jeopardising the financial security of thousands of not
very well off pensioners?
Global Trends
Consolidation into bigger funds
•
Europe
− Netherlands
− Denmark
•
North America
− Canada
− US
•
Australia
LGPS Super Pools
Could be regional – easier legislation – but don’t buy
the ‘localism’ argument
A Plan for the Minister
•
Bring the funds together from 2014 into a new body – Public Pension
Funds Authority (PPFA) + five super pools
•
Super pools held to account by councils’ pension committees
•
Force failing funds (eg: less than 40% swaps basis funded) into PPFA
following 2013 valuation, i.e. from April 2014
•
Deficits remain a local liability, and local employers can set the terms.
Ideally close to new entrants and stop future benefits accrual
•
Force failing sponsors to put in specie assets into the fund, e.g. vacant
land, property, and have a recovery plan
Questions?