Fund Accounts and Net Asset Statements
Scheme Account Summary
Disclaimer - this summary is provided to give a broad picture of the LGPS in England and Wales. It has been aggregated from fund accounts (both audited and unaudited) as available but is not in itself subject to any form of audit nor is it set out in line with standard accounting practice. Aggregation into the headings shown did by necessity mean some individual fund figures were placed into the nearest equivalent financial heading or asset class. Where no accounts were available at the time of aggregation, information for those funds is blank. For source data please see the 2024 fund annual reports page.
Data limitations
It is important to note that the data contained in this Scheme Annual Report is based on the individual LGPS fund annual report and audited accounts. The SAB is reliant on the general accuracy of the fund annual reports without independent verification. Whilst the data have been checked for reasonableness and consistency, a full independent audit of the aggregated data has not been completed.
The charts, analysis and general commentary are based on the face accounts, or broad ‘high-level’ figures. Analysis of account notes demonstrated variations in depth of reporting and subjective interpretation of some accounting classifications.
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2023-2024 |
2022-2023 |
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|
|
£m |
£m |
|
Dealings with Members, Employers and Others Directly Involved in the Fund |
|
|
|
Contributions and other income |
14,713.3 |
12,073.4 |
|
Benefits and other payments |
(14,894.3) |
(12,995.8) |
|
Net Additions (Withdrawals) from dealing with members before management expenses |
(176.2) |
(922.4) |
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|
|
|
Fund running costs |
|
|
|
Investment & Fund management costs and expenses (see breakdown below) |
(2,090.6) |
(1,973.6) |
|
Net Additions (Withdrawals) including management expenses |
(2,115.0) |
(2,896.0) |
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|
|
|
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Investment returns |
|
|
|
Investment Income |
5,936.7 |
4,968.5 |
|
Taxes on income |
(19.3) |
(35.0) |
|
Profits and losses on disposal of investments and change in value of investments |
28,624.5 |
(11,407.5) |
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Net return on investment |
34,524.7 |
(6,474.0) |
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|
|
|
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Net increase / (decrease) in the net assets available for benefits during the year |
32,254.7 |
(9,367.0) |
|
Opening Net Assets of the scheme |
357,704.3 |
363,414.2 |
|
Closing Net Assets of the scheme |
389,963.1 |
354,047.2 |
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|
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|
|
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Breakdown of Investment & Fund management costs and expenses |
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2023-2024 |
2022-2023 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
£m |
£m |
|
Administration and Governance |
|
|
|
Administration |
(195.7) |
(176.5) |
|
Oversight and Governance |
(91.9) |
(92.9) |
|
Other |
(3.3) |
(5.7) |
|
Total Administration and Governance |
(290.8) |
(275.1) |
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|
|
|
|
Investment management costs |
|
|
|
Management fees |
(1,362.5) |
(1,310.3) |
|
Performance fees |
(167.1) |
(181.6) |
|
Transaction costs |
(201.1) |
(180.8) |
|
Custody costs |
(7.3) |
(9.5) |
|
Other costs |
(38.1) |
(44.4) |
|
Total investment management costs |
-1,776.1 |
-1,726.5 |
Scheme Net Assets Summary
The table below uses the asset categorisation required to be reported in annual reports in line with the CIPFA Code but with a further breakdown of the amounts included within the “pooled investment vehicles” category. This breakdown is taken from the Net Assets Statement when not included in the annual report itself. The Board believes that this greater level of disclosure helps to better illustrate the underlying asset classes and strategies used by funds. This approach was adopted in last year’s Scheme Annual Report but in previous years many assets were reported simply under “pooled investment vehicles”.
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2023-2024 |
2022-2023 |
|
|
|
|
|
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£m |
£m |
|
|
|
|
|
Equities |
192,602.3 |
182,320.0 |
|
Bonds |
61,790.1 |
44,107.0 |
|
Property |
28,998.5 |
28,393.5 |
|
Infrastructure |
23,715.6 |
22,739.2 |
|
Private equity |
23,717.5 |
22,012.2 |
|
Multi-asset credit |
5,959.2 |
13,203.8 |
|
Private debt |
10,906.3 |
11,075.9 |
|
Diversified growth funds (DGF) |
6,738.7 |
8,506.0 |
|
Liability Driven Investments (LDI) |
2,246.3 |
3,419.3 |
|
Hedge funds |
1,414.5 |
1,844.6 |
|
Derivatives |
116.8 |
438.0 |
|
Cash |
8,350.8 |
7,297.2 |
|
Other (inc net current assets) |
13,745.2 |
8,690.5 |
|
Total net assets |
389,963.1 |
354,047.2 |
Audit status 2023-2024
Please see the fund annual reports 2024 page; At the time of data collection, 23 administering authorities had completed the audit of their 2023-24 accounts. As at the time this Scheme Annual Report was drafted, April 2025, 30 administering authorities had completed the audit of their 2023-24 accounts. Where audited accounts were not available, full draft accounts were available in all but two instances. Council Statement of Accounts was used for one of these, and one was still unavailable at the time of drafting.
Notes
The Scheme Annual Report is based on each LGPS fund's statutory annual reports and audited financial statements, these have been collated and published in one place. At the highest level of financial reporting, the fund financial statements have been gathered together and totalled to produce these aggregated Scheme annual accounts and net assets statement.
The Statement of Accounts summarises the Scheme’s transactions for the year and its position at year end. The data used comes from the individual LGPS funds' financial statements which are prepared in accordance with the Code of Practice on Local Authority Accounting in the United Kingdom (The Code). The Code is issued by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) and is based on International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), as amended for the UK public sector. The individual LGPS fund accounts have been prepared on an accruals basis in accordance with the Code, apart from transfer values which are generally accounted for on a cash basis as the Code requires.
The Net Assets Statement similarly summarises the Scheme’s assets over the year and its position as at 31 March.
The individual LGPS fund accounts do not take account of obligations to pay pensions and benefits which fall due after the end of the financial year, nor do they take into account the actuarial present value of promised retirement benefits. IAS 26 gives administering authorities the option to disclose this information by appending an actuarial report, prepared for this purpose. These statements are as at the most recent Scheme valuation date, which for 2024 annual reports is 31 March 2022.