Datesforyour diaries...
1April
ChangestoEmployeeContribution ratescomeintoeffect
3May
YearEndsubmissiondeadline.
Nextquarterwewillbe startingworkonAnnual BenefitStatements,these showmembershowmuch LGPSpensiontheyhavebuilt upwithus Membersaccess theseviaMyWiltshirePension, theirsecureonlineportal.
Helplookafteryour employeesfinancialwellbeing andencouragethemregister forMyWiltshirePension,where theycanalso:
updatetheircontact details
checktheirretirement projection
updatetheirexpressionof wish andmore!
wwwwiltshirepensionfundorguk
EmployersQ2-2024 Newsletter
MyWiltshire pension
CLICKTO REGISTER
Followingonfromthelastnewsletter,I’mreallypleased thatwearenowrecommencingiConnectonboarding forallremainingemployerswhoarenotonboarded. OurnewEmployerServicesManager,NatHarrison,and herteamwillbeintouchaboutsupportingyoutoget onboardedinduecourse.Wearenowbeginningto workthroughourendofyearchecks,sothatwecan preparetheannualbenefitstatementsforyourLGPS employees.Pleasecanyoumakesureyouworkwith ouremployerservicesteamtoanswertheirqueriesas weworkhardtoensureyourdataisaccurateandup todate
Lastquarter,wetoldyouthatwewerecarryingouta bigresponsibleinvestmentsurveyofallourmembers Wehadanoverwhelmingresponse,andthisisclearly atopicthatourmembers,youremployees,reallycare about.Youcanreadmoreabouttheresultsinthis newsletter Wealsowanttoknowwhatyou,our employersthink!WelastsurveyedyouinAugust2021, andwewillberunningasurveyoverthesummerthis yearsoyouwillhaveanopportunitytoshareyour views Thiswillbeabroadersurvey,coveringother topicsaswellasinvestments.
Jennifer Devine HeadofWiltshirePensionFund
OURVISIONISTODELIVERAN OUTSTANDINGSERVICETOOUR SCHEMEEMPLOYERSANDMEMBERS
QUARTERLYNEWSLETTER
AsattheendofFebruary2024thefundwas valuedat£3.3bn,deliveringareturnof7.6% overthepast12months.Overthepastyear globalequities(sharesinlargeglobal companies)havebeenthemaindriverfor thefund’sgrowth Theportfoliodiversification andinvestmentstrategyhasperformedwell allowingthefundtomaintainstabilityand growthamidstwidereconomicvolatility. Sincethelastquarterupdate,wereportedon thenewinvestmentintoournewClimate Opportunitiesportfolio(CLOPS).
Wearepleasedtoconfirmacommitmentof £50mtoNinety-Onewhowillmanagethe newEmergingMarketDebtportfolio–these loanswillaidthetransitiontowardsnet-zero whereitisarguablyneededmost.Weare reallyproudhowwellthisportfolioisshaping upandwewillcontinuereportingasthis portfoliodevelops
AsresponsiblestewardsoftheFund’sassets, recently,theInvestmentsTeampaidavisitto Londontocheckouthowourallocation toaffordablehousingis makingarealdifference tolocalcommunities.
VIEW OUR TOP EQUITY HOLDINGS
In line with the funds value of transparency we have launched a new tool to allow you to see what companies the fund is invested in. Click below to view our top 20 last quarter:
Equity Holdings
InvestmentNews
onthenews pagesofour website!
Findoutmore
Updates...
NEWI-CONNECTRESOURCE
Weunderstandthatpensionsareonlyasmallpartofyourrole,we wanttohelpmakethingsassimpleandstraightforwardaspossible. Withthisinmind,wehavecreatedastep-by-stepvideoguideto onlinereturns
Visitourwebsitetowatchthevideoandseeotherguidesavailableto helpyouinprocessingyouremployeespensions.
i-ConnectData
Weusethedatayouprovideustocalculateandpayyouremployees pensions.Itisvitalthatthisdataisaccurate,withthisismindyoumay seemoreerrormessageswhensubmittingyourdata.Tohelpwiththiswe havecreatedani-ConnectCommonerrorspage,containingFAQ’sand troubleshootinginformation Pleasevisitthepagetofamiliariseyourself withthesecommonerrors,sothatyouareawareofthemaheadofthe nextsubmission.
CLICKTOVIEWTHEGUIDE CLICKTOVIEWTHEPAGE
ABOLITIONOFTHE LIFETIMEALLOWANCE
Fromthe6April2024theLifetime Allowancehasbeenreplacedbytwonewallowances, TheLumpSumAllowance,andtheLumpSumDeathBenefitAllowance Thisdoesnotaffectmembers’benefits.However,theinformationwe needfrommembersatretirementhaschanged
Thisisdetailedinourcorrespondenceandonourwebsite;LumpSum Allowances-WiltshirePensionFundMemberArea Ifamemberhasa queryregardingthis,pleaseaskthemtocontactourMemberServices Team
ANNUALALLOWANCE
TheAnnualAllowanceremainsat£60,000forthe2024/25taxyear.The AnnualAllowanceisthemaximumamembercanaccrueintheirpension arrangementsinanytaxyear.
MemberswhoarepotentiallyaffectedwillreceivetheirAllowance Statementsbefore5October2024andthisinformationwillbeavailable forallmembersontheirMemberSelfServiceportalfrom5October2024 FurtherinformationcanbefoundontheAnnualAllowancepageofour website.
TheLGAhascreated thisvideoexplaining moreaboutwhatthis isandhowitworks.
In other news...
RESPONSIBLEINVESTMENTSURVEY2024THERESULTS!
DuringJanuary2024,weranasurveyoftheFund’smembershipon responsibleinvestmentissues.Thepurposeofthesurveywasto engagewithmembers,raiseawareness,andunderstandtheirviews andpriorities.
Anamazing2,914ofourmembersrespondedtothesurvey!Thatisa 30%increasefromlastyear,when2,251peopleresponded.This demonstrateshowmuchourmemberscareaboutthistopic.
Keyfindingsareshownbelow:
Visitourwebsitetoviewthefullresultsandfindoutaboutwhatactions wearetaking.SummarieswillalsobeincludedintheAnnualReport 2024andtheStewardshipReport
TheFundwillbesurveyingemployersontheirviewsontheinvestment strategyinsummer2024-keepalookoutformoreinformationin futurenewsletters.
CLICKTOVIEWTHERESULTS
EMPLOYER SITE MEMBER WEBINARS LGPS Regulations and Guidance Employerresources QUARTERLYNEWSLETTER USEFULLINKS EmployerGuidesandVideos Trainingrequests Employerforms LGPSEmployerbitesizetraining
Toensureweare communicatingwiththe correctpeoplewithinyour organisationpleasecan employersinformthefund ofanychangesinstaffby completinganAuthorised Contactsform
Allformsshouldbereturned to:
pensionforms@wiltshiregovuk
Wehopeyoufoundthisuseful!
Contact Details
Digitalcopiesofournewsletterscanbefoundonour website Questions? PleasecontactMatthew.Allen@wiltshire.gov.uk
