Issue - meetings

The Committee had before it a report by the External Auditor on the 2016/17 Annual Audit of the North East Scotland Pension Fund.  The report noted that auditors were required to report on specific matters arising from the audit of the financial statements to those charged with governance of a body, prior to the financial statements being approved and certified.  The report presented the draft annual report on the 2016/17 audit.

The key messages from the audit were that the Fund had effective arrangements in place for financial management, including the comprehensive reporting of investment performance.  Pension contributions for the Main Fund continued to exceed benefits payable.  The report noted that the increase in pensioners in the Transport Fund’s membership would make funding pension payments increasingly challenging with a greater reliance on selling investments, however the funding levels did not give any cause for concern in the short to medium term.

The audit had found that effective governance arrangements were in place to support scrutiny of decisions made by the Pensions Committee and decisions were transparent, with committee papers and detailed minutes available on the Aberdeen City Council website.  The performance of the Fund was subject to regular review and scrutiny by the Committee.

The report included an action plan containing a recommendation for improvement in respect of updating the Pensions Committee Orders of Reference by March 2018.

The Committee heard in detail from Ms Woolman and Mr Morrison in respect of the report following which Members asked a number of questions.

The Committee resolved:-

to note the audit report.

The Board resolved:-

to note the decision of the Committee.