The Scheme Advisory Board has published an overview of the triennial valuation and a detailed report on the results for 2025.

The Scheme Advisory Board welcomes the publication of the “Fit for the Future” statutory guidance documents made under the Pension Schemes Act 2026 and the associated changes to the LGPS regulations which take effect from 30 June 2026.

The guidance provides the much needed clarity that administering authorities (AAs) have been waiting for to implement this significant package of reforms. In particular, the Board welcomes the continued focus on governance, reflecting many of the principles set out in its 2021 Good Governance recommendations.

The guidance explains how the Government expects the new Independent Person and Senior LGPS Officer roles to operate, both independently and in partnership. These new roles represent a significant development in governance, and the Board recognises the efforts funds are making to get these roles in place.

At the same time, funds will need to review and develop a range of policies and processes to meet the new requirements. The governance guidance sets out the requirements for the new Independent Governance Review (IGR). The Board recognises that there will be significant interest across the LGPS community in understanding how the first IGRs will operate in practice, including emerging approaches to implementation. To support this, we are currently exploring the development of a dedicated event that would provide an opportunity to share insights and facilitate discussion on how AA’s can effectively approach their first IGR.

The requirement for administering authorities to maintain an Administration Strategy is a welcome development which recognises the importance of pensions administration in delivering good outcomes for members and employers. The Board looks forward to further guidance to support funds in developing and implementing these strategies.

The publication of pooling guidance is also a significant milestone, providing funds with an overdue framework for implementing the Government’s chosen asset pooling model. The Board recognises that there were different views as to whether this was the right model and that implementation has presented challenges for some funds. However, now that this has been set out in legislation the task before us is to make it work as well as possible. And there is still much of the detail to be fleshed out, particularly around oversight and governance, which the Board intends to support funds and pools in achieving successful outcomes.

The updated guidance on Investment Strategy Statements (ISSs) is particularly important as funds prepare to update their statements ahead of the March 2027 deadline.

We recognise that while this is not the timetable the Board would have preferred, the final guidance represents a significant improvement in both content and clarity compared with the versions consulted on over the Christmas period.

The Board has worked extensively throughout the development of the regulations and guidance to ensure that MHCLG officials understood the opportunities and practical challenges these reforms present, We are pleased that officials have remained open to engagement and feedback from the sector and believe this collaborative approach has contributed to improvements in the guidance. We will continue to monitor implementation closely and are ready to provide additional support for AAs. We are already considering what additional guidance, events and support may be helpful in navigating these changes. Please do get in touch with the secretariat team if you have any suggestions.

Yours Sincerely,

Cllr Roger Phillips, Chair of the Board and Clair Alcock, Board Secretary and Head of Pensions, LGA

 

 

 

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Burges Salmon legal advice on pooling governance and conflicts of interests

The Board commissioned high-level advice from the legal firm Burges Salmon to help administering authorities consider practical ways of working that were consistent with the government’s Fit for the Future proposals on pooling while managing conflicts of interest. We asked that the legal advice consider the different pooling governance models currently being operated by LGPS pools and wider practice in comparable schemes. It is intended that this will help inform the development of wider pooling governance guidance that might be issued, in so far as that addresses the issue of conflicts of interest. The advice has now been received and has also been seen and discussed by the Board and its Investment Committee.

Pension Fund	Authority	PSPA 6(a)	PSPA 6(b)	PSPA 6(c)
Avon Pension Fund	Bath & North East Somerset Council	Yes	No	Yes
Barking and Dagenham Pension Fund	London Borough of Barking and Dagenham	Yes	No	Yes
Barnet Pension Fund	London Borough of Barnet	Yes	No	Yes
Bedfordshire Pension Fund	Bedford Borough Council	Yes	Yes	Yes
Berkshire Pension Fund	Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead	Yes	Yes	Yes
Bexley Pension Fund	London Borough of Bexley	Yes	Yes	Yes
Brent Pension Fund	London Borough of Brent	Yes	No	Yes
Bromley Pension Fund	London Borough of Bromley	Yes	No	Yes
Buckinghamshire Pension Fund	Buckinghamshire County Council	Yes	Yes	Yes
Cambridgeshire Pension Fund	Cambridgeshire County Council	Yes	No	Yes
Camden Pension Fund	London Borough of Camden	Yes	Yes	Yes
Cardiff Pension Fund	City of Cardiff Council	No	No	Yes
Cheshire Pension Fund	Cheshire West and Chester Council	Yes	Yes	Yes
City of London Corporation Pension Fund	City of London Corporation	No	No	Yes
City of Westminster Pension Fund	Westminster City Council	Yes	Yes	Yes
Clwyd Pension Fund	Flintshire County Council	No	Yes	Yes
Cornwall Pension Fund	Cornwall Council	Yes	Yes	Yes
Croydon Pension Fund	London Borough of Croydon	Yes	Yes	Yes
Cumbria Pension Fund	Cumbria County Council	Yes	Yes	Yes
Derbyshire Pension Fund	Derbyshire County Council	Partial	Partial	Yes
Devon Pension Fund	Devon County Council	Yes	Yes	Yes
Dorset Pension Fund	Dorset County Council	No	No	Yes
Durham Pension Fund	Durham County Council	Yes	Yes	Yes
Dyfed Pension Fund	Carmarthenshire County Council	Yes	Yes	Yes
Ealing Pension Fund	London Borough of Ealing	No	No	No
East Riding Pension Fund	East Riding of Yorkshire Council	Yes	Yes	Yes
East Sussex Pension Fund	East Sussex County Council	Yes	Yes	Yes
Enfield Pension Fund	London Borough of Enfield	Yes	No	No
Environment Agency – active Pension Fund	The Environment Agency	Yes	Yes	Yes
Environment Agency – closed Pension Fund	The Environment Agency	No	No	No
Essex Pension Fund	Essex County Council	Yes	Yes	Yes
Gloucestershire Pension Fund	Gloucestershire County Council	Yes	Yes	Yes
Greater Gwent (Torfaen) Pension Fund	Torfaen County Borough Council	Yes	Yes	Yes
Greater Manchester Pension Fund	Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council	Yes	Yes	Yes
Greenwich Pension Fund	Royal Borough of Greenwich	Yes	Yes	Yes
Gwynedd Pension Fund	Gwynedd Council	Yes	Yes	Yes
Hackney Pension Fund	London Borough of Hackney	Yes	No	Yes
Hammersmith and Fulham Pension Fund	London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham	Partial	Yes	Yes
Hampshire Pension Fund	Hampshire County Council	Yes	Yes	Yes
Haringey Pension Fund	London Borough of Haringey	No	No	Yes
Harrow Pension Fund	London Borough of Harrow	Yes	Yes	Yes
Havering Pension Fund	London Borough of Havering	Yes	Yes	Yes
Hertfordshire Pension Fund	Hertfordshire County Council	No	No	Yes
Hillingdon Pension Fund	London Borough of Hillingdon	Yes	Yes	Yes
Hounslow Pension Fund	London Borough of Hounslow	Yes	Yes	Yes
Isle of Wight Pension Fund	Isle of Wight Council	Yes	Yes	Yes
Islington Pension Fund	London Borough of Islington	Yes	Yes	Yes
Kensington and Chelsea Pension Fund	Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea	Yes	Partial	Yes
Kent Pension Fund	Kent County Council	Yes	Yes	Yes
Kingston upon Thames Pension Fund	Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames	Yes	Yes	Yes
Lambeth Pension Fund	London Borough of Lambeth	Yes	Yes	Yes
Lancashire Pension Fund	Lancashire County Council	Yes	Yes	Yes
Leicestershire Pension Fund	Leicestershire County Council	Yes	Yes	Yes
Lewisham Pension Fund	London Borough of Lewisham	Yes	Yes	Yes
Lincolnshire Pension Fund	Lincolnshire County Council	Yes	Yes	Yes
London Pensions Fund Authority Pension Fund	London Pensions Fund Authority	Yes	Yes	Yes
Merseyside Pension Fund	Wirral Council	Yes	Yes	Yes
Merton Pension Fund	London Borough of Merton	No	No	Yes
Newham Pension Fund	London Borough of Newham	No	No	Yes
Norfolk Pension Fund	Norfolk County Council	Yes	Yes	Yes
North Yorkshire Pension Fund	North Yorkshire County Council	Yes	Yes	Yes
Northamptonshire Pension Fund	Northamptonshire County Council	Partial	No	Yes
Northumberland Pension Fund	Northumberland County Council	Yes	Yes	Yes
Nottinghamshire Pension Fund	Nottinghamshire County Council	No	No	Yes
Oxfordshire Pension Fund	Oxfordshire County Council	No	No	Yes
Powys Pension Fund	Powys County Council	No	No	Yes
Redbridge Pension Fund	London Borough of Redbridge	Yes	Yes	Yes
Rhondda Cynon Taf Pension Fund	Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council	Yes	Yes	Yes
Richmond Pension Fund	London Borough of Richmond upon Thames	Yes	Yes	Yes
Shropshire Pension Fund	Shropshire Council	Yes	Yes	Yes
Somerset Pension Fund	Somerset County Council	Yes	No	Yes
South Yorkshire Pension Fund	South Yorkshire Pensions Authority	Yes	Yes	Yes
South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Pension Fund	South Yorkshire Integrated Transport Authority	Yes	Yes	Yes
Southwark Pension Fund	London Borough of Southwark	Yes	Yes	Yes
Staffordshire Pension Fund	Staffordshire County Council	Yes	Yes	Yes
Suffolk Pension Fund	Suffolk County Council	Yes	Yes	Yes
Surrey Pension Fund	Surrey County Council	Yes	Yes	Yes
Sutton Pension Fund	London Borough of Sutton	Yes	Yes	Yes
Swansea Pension Fund	City & County of Swansea	Yes	Yes	Yes
Teesside Pension Fund	Middlesbrough Council	Yes	Yes	Yes
Tower Hamlets Pension Fund	London Borough of Tower Hamlets	Yes	Yes	Yes
Tyne and Wear Pension Fund	South Tyneside Council	Yes	Yes	Yes
Waltham Forest Pension Fund	London Borough of Waltham Forest	No	No	Yes
Wandsworth Pension Fund	London Borough of Wandsworth	Yes	No	No
Warwickshire Pension Fund	Warwickshire County Council	Yes	Yes	Yes
West Midlands Pension Fund	Wolverhampton City Council	Yes	Yes	Yes
West Midlands Passenger Transport Pension Fund	West Midlands Integrated Transport Authority	Yes	Yes	Yes
West Sussex Pension Fund	West Sussex County Council	Yes	Yes	Yes
West Yorkshire Pension Fund	City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council	No	No	Yes
Wiltshire Pension Fund	Wiltshire Council	Yes	Yes	Yes
Worcestershire Pension Fund	Worcestershire County Council	Yes	No	Yes

Further to the Board’s statement of the 27th July 2020 on the status of local pension board meetings during covid restrictions, the emergency legislation that the government introduced to allow section 101 committees to meet remotely has not been renewed and ceased to have effect from the 6th May. This has led to some confusion over whether local pension boards should follow suit and return to face to face meetings.

The SAB wishes to make it clear that the position set out in the earlier statement remains unchanged. Legal opinion obtained by the Board in January 2015 concluded that local pension boards are not local authority committees and are not therefore subject to the same legal requirements and conventions as, say, an LGPS pensions committee. The legal requirement for section 101 committees to return to face to face meetings does not therefore apply to local pension boards who may continue to meet remotely, face to face or a combination of both as agreed locally.

Administering authorities who have established a combined committee and local pension board under Regulation 106(2) of the 2013 Regulations may wish to seek their own legal advice on how future meetings should be conducted.

Following concerns raised at a recent Local Pension Board workshop the following statement on the position of local pension boards meeting during the covid-19 emergency has been agreed:- SAB statement on Local Pension Board meeting cancellations (pdf 1 page, 60Kb)

To assist in the establishment of these Boards the Shadow Scheme Advisory Board (SSAB) has developed guidance on the creation and operation of Local Pension Boards for Administering Authorities.

6. Pension board: information

(1) The scheme manager for a scheme under section 1 and any statutory pension scheme that is connected with it must publish information about the pension board for the scheme or schemes (and keep that information up-to-date).

(2) That information must include information about –

(a) who the members of the board are,

(b) representation on the board of members of the scheme or schemes, and

(c) the matters falling within the board’s responsibility.

(3) This section does not apply to a scheme under section 1 which is an injury or compensation scheme.