The agenda for the Pensions Committee meeting of Cornwall Council included discussion of the Cornwall Pension Fund's financial statements and annual report, a business update from the benefits team, and a governance update. The committee was scheduled to consider a resolution to exclude the press and public from part of the meeting due to the likely disclosure of exempt information relating to the financial or business affairs of particular people or organisations.

Cornwall Pension Fund Financial Statements 2024/25

The committee was scheduled to review the Cornwall Pension Fund's financial statements for 2024/25. The report pack included the financial statements as appendix 2, and the audit findings report from Grant Thornton as appendix 3. The committee was asked to note the audit findings report, and to recommend the financial statements to the audit committee for approval as part of Cornwall Council's overall financial statements. According to the overview included as appendix 1, the audit of the pension fund's 2024/25 financial statements was nearing completion, and no matters were expected to require altering the audit opinion or material changes to the financial statements.

The financial statements showed that the value of the fund increased by £17.864 million during the 2024/25 financial year, leading to a year-end valuation of £2,525.902. The statements summarise the transactions of the fund during the year, both for benefits and investments, and show the position of the fund on 31 March 2025. They provide information about the financial position, performance and financial adaptability of the fund and show how the fund has been managed and what assets were in the fund at the period end. Liabilities to pay pensions and other benefits in the future are not included but are dealt with in the Actuarial data included in the notes.

The notes to the pension scheme accounts include:

• A description of the fund, stating that Cornwall Pension Fund is a Local Government Pension Scheme.
• A summary of the basis of preparation of the accounts.
• The accounting policies that have been followed.
• Critical judgements in applying accounting policies.
• Assumptions made about the future and other major sources of estimation uncertainty.
• A description of events after the reporting date, including the government's decision that the Brunel Pension Partnership did not meet expectations, and new global tariffs introduced by President Trump.
• An analysis of total contributions and benefits.
• Details of management expenses.
• Investment income.
• Investments.
• Fair value hierarchy.
• Financial instruments.
• The nature and extent of risks arising from financial instruments.
• An actuarial statement for 2024-25, prepared by Hymans Robertson LLP.
• The actuarial present value of promised retirement benefits, also prepared by Hymans Robertson LLP.
• Current assets and liabilities.
• Additional voluntary contributions.
• Related party transactions.
• Contractual commitments, contingent assets and contingent liabilities.

Cornwall Pension Fund Annual Report 2024-25

The committee was also scheduled to approve the Pension Fund Annual Report 2024-25, and the responsible investment section of the report, which will be used for the publication of the Responsible Investment Outcomes Report 2024-25. The report is required by the Local Government Pension Scheme Regulations 2013, and must contain information including:

• Management and financial performance during the year
• The authority's investment policy and a review of the performance of the fund's assets
• Administration arrangements
• A statement by the actuary of the assets, liabilities and funding level
• The annual financial statements
• The fund's Investment Strategy Statement, Governance Compliance Statement, Communications Policy Statement and the Funding Strategy Statement
• LGPS Pooling disclosures
• Other material considered appropriate

Cornwall Pension Fund Business Update – Benefits Team

The committee was scheduled to receive an update on the activity of the fund's benefits team. The update included:

• An overview of the fund
• Active membership movements
• Non-active membership movements
• Unprocessed leavers and unclaimed refunds
• An update on My Pension Online (member self service)
• Measures of administration workload
• A summary of death grants paid
• A team update on resourcing and recruitment
• A complaints/compliments log
• Changes to employers in the fund
• Communications and employer training
• A Pensions Dashboard Programme update
• An update from the South West Area Pensions Officers Group (SWAPOG) meeting

Cornwall Pension Fund Governance Update

The committee was scheduled to discuss a governance update, including:

• A Pension Board update
• Payment of contributions
• A review of the risk register
• A review of the fund's attendance and training record
• A review of the investment consultant against objectives
• An annual cyber security review
• The fund's cyber strategy
• The fund's conflicts of interest policy
• The fund's communications policy
• Pensions Committee employee representative recruitment

The report pack included a recommendation to approve the updated communications policy, which outlines how the fund engages with its stakeholders, and to recommend to full council that the nominated candidate be appointed to the Pensions Committee as employee representative.

The Risk Register Report stated that there had been no movement affecting any of the risks identified within the register this quarter, but that some minor updates had been made to the mitigations for the following risks:

• Implications of not meeting the deadline to connect to the Pensions Dashboards ecosystem
• Impact of additional work and cost to comply with the agreed remedy for the McCloud judgement

The report pack also stated that officers had overridden the risk area to red, due to MHCLG rejecting the Brunel Pension Partnership business plan and the significant market volatility.

The Attendance and Training Record showed that Councillor Mike Thomas, Chair of the Pensions Committee, Councillor Mark Burnett, Vice Chair, and Councillors James Ball, Debra Clegg, Cliff Crawford, Damon Dennis, Joanna Kenny, and Sean Smith had attended the meeting on 6 June 2025. It also showed that Julie Martin, Employer Representative, had attended the meeting, but that John Tutchier, Member Representative, and Councillor Steve Trevelyan had not.