There are currently eight local authority pension funds in Wales, based upon the eight former county councils; within each area, one of the successor authorities acts as the "lead authority" (which with the exception of Powys where the county council became the new unitary authority) and has meant one council managing the pension funds on behalf of the other principal authorities.
The market value of the 8 pension funds at 31st March 2012 were as follows:
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Flintshire UA (Clwyd)
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1,060,823
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Carmarthenshire UA (Dyfed)
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1,400,606
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Torfaen UA (Gwent)
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1,682,593
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Gwynedd(Gwynedd County)
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1,049,671
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Rhondda Cynon Taff UA (Mid Glamorgan)
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1,785,254
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Powys UA
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372,443
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Cardiff UA (South Glamorgan)
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1,150,523
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Swansea UA (West Glamorgan)
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1,118,780
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Looking at these figures, the total value adds up to over £9.5 billion, which is greater that the £8 billion identified by the all pensions group, which manages the Dutch public sector pensions pot as the size of pension fund at which economies of scale and benefits occur
At first glance, it can be said that creating one single pensions scheme for all the Councils in Wales would be both advantageous and straight forward, particularly given the significant financial benefits that would be available from the economies of scale (from reducing investment costs, administrative costs and the flexibility of the scheme
However, just like all financial actions, this is not as simple as it looks or sounds; this is because each scheme will have a different actuarial valuation and liabilities, as well as contain different levels of employer contributions to make up the shortfall.
Although primary legislation is required to make a single fund, I believe the case to do so is overwhelming.
If there is the political will, this can be achieved and would be of benefit to both council tax payers and to Wales
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