Review of No 3 Fund – Merger approved, in principle.

5 There was submitted a report by the Director of Pension Fund regarding a review of Strathclyde Pension Fund (No 3 Fund), advising

(1) that the No 3 Fund had been established in February 1993 to separately preserve the pensionable benefits of those remaining employees of Strathclyde Buses who had transferred from the service of Strathclyde Regional Council on the implementation of the Transport Act 1985 in October 1986;

(2) that as a closed fund, the No 3 Fund was not open to new members and First , a subsidiary of the First Group, was the only employer contributing to that Fund, which was a sub-fund of the main Strathclyde Pension Fund;

(3) of the No 3 Fund profile as at 31st March 2017;

(4) that given the No 3 Fund’s maturity and the funding objective, as detailed in the Funding Strategy Statement, new accrual would cease in the foreseeable future when there would be no more active membership and would be expected to exit the Fund at that time and the Funding Strategy Statement had noted that the funding strategy might include an insurance buy-in of some or all of the liabilities in advance of First Glasgow’s exit from the No 3 Fund;

(5) that the First Group had indicated a preference for an insurance buy-in at the end-stage strategy for the No 3 Fund and, with the agreement of Strathclyde Pension Fund, the First Group had carried out a feasibility study of that option and the Investment Advisory Panel had agreed that this proposal would be beneficial to the First Group however, as it was not clear that there would be any net benefit to Strathclyde Pension Fund, the First Group had been asked to re-consider the proposal;

(6) that the First Group had now amended its proposal, with the key elements being the proposed merger of all of the assets and liabilities of the No 3 Fund into the Aberdeen City Council Transport Fund which, together with the North East Pension Fund, was managed by Aberdeen City Council and was governed by LGPS regulations, with the rational for this proposal being as detailed in the report; and

(7) of the process and timescale for the proposed merger of the No 3 Fund with the North East Scotland Pension Fund.

After consideration, the committee approved, in principle the proposed merger of the No 3 Fund with the North East Scotland Pension Fund.