Making pensions exciting: closing the diversity pension gap in the LGPS

With nearly seven million members, the LGPS supports the diverse workforce that delivers vital public services in communities across England and Wales. At its heart is a simple but important mission: to provide members with dignity and financial security in later life.

As part of the Board’s commitment to supporting the long-term success of the Scheme, we have been focusing on understanding how effectively the LGPS delivers on that mission and whether outcomes are experienced equitably by different groups of members.

The Board co-sponsored this report to shine a light on the complex factors that can influence pension outcomes by deepening our understanding of members’ experiences, it provides valuable evidence to inform future discussion and recommendations on how the Scheme can continue to evolve and improve.

Clair Alcock, Board Secretary, said:

“I am proud that the LGPS is the first public service pension scheme to have made gender pension gap reporting business as usual. What this groundbreaking research shows is that, if we are serious about understanding inequality in pension outcomes, gender alone is not enough. By examining ethnicity, disability and age alongside gender, the report begins to build the evidence base needed to drive meaningful change. I would encourage Ministers to build on this progress by extending pension gap reporting to other protected characteristics and across all public service pension schemes.”

We are grateful to the researchers who have undertaken this work: Investors for Purpose and co-sponsors the City of Westminster Pension Fund and Hymans Robertson.

Read the full report here https://www.investorsforpurpose.com/ImpactLens/2026/09/10/Making-pensions-exciting-closing-the-diversity-pension-gap-in-the-LGPS/