64 Annual Review of the AVC Provision
13:00
The Local Government Pension Scheme Regulations require the Administering Authority to appoint an Additional Voluntary Contributions (AVC) provider, to fulfil the statutory requirement of section 12 of the Social Security Act 1986. The authority must provide facilities whereby members may elect to pay additional contributions, within Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs limits, to provide additional benefits at retirement or in the event of death in service. These additional contributions do not form part of the Oxfordshire County Council Pension Fund and do not require an employer’s contribution.
The Council appointed The Prudential Assurance Company Limited (Prudential) in 1998 to provide its AVC scheme. The Administering Authority is responsible for determining and periodically reviewing the performance of the range of fund options from which the members can select. A review of Oxfordshire County Council Pension Fund’s AVC provider is conducted annually and this report details the findings of the review undertaken in 2019. In 2018 a full review of the Fund’s AVC arrangements was undertaken by Aon Hewitt.
The public should be excluded during this item because its discussion in public would be likely to lead to the disclosure to members of the public present of information in the following prescribed category:
3. Information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information)
and since it is considered that, in all the circumstances of the case, the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information, in that such disclosure would prejudice the trading activities of the fund managers involved.
The Committee is RECOMMENDED to note the report and to confirm the continued use of Prudential as the Council’s AVC provider.
Decision:
Noted.
Minutes:
The Local Government Pension Scheme Regulations required the Administering Authority to appoint an Additional Voluntary Contributions (AVC) provider, to fulfil the statutory requirement of section 12 of the Social Security Act 1986. The authority must provide facilities whereby members may elect to pay additional contributions, within Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs limits, to provide additional benefits at retirement or in the event of death in service. These additional contributions do not form part of the Oxfordshire County Council Pension Fund and do not require an employer’s contribution.
The Council appointed The Prudential Assurance Company Limited (Prudential) in 1998 to provide its AVC scheme. The Administering Authority was responsible for determining and periodically reviewing the performance of the range of fund options from which the members could select. A review of Oxfordshire County Council Pension Fund’s AVC provider was conducted annually and the now had before it a report (PF21) which provided the findings of the review undertaken in 2019. In 2018 a full review of the Fund’s AVC arrangements had been undertaken by Aon Hewitt.
The public was excluded during this item because its discussion in public would be likely to lead to the disclosure to members of the public present of information in the following prescribed category:
3. Information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information)
and since it was considered that, in all the circumstances of the case, the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighed the public interest in disclosing the information, in that such disclosure would prejudice the trading activities of the fund managers involved.
RESOLVED:to note the report and to confirm the continued use of Prudential as the Council’s AVC provider.