The Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Local Pension Board of the Firefighters' Pension Scheme met on Monday 1 June 2026 to discuss updates on governance and policy, administration of the Firefighter Pension Schemes, and a review of risks. The meeting also covered the minutes from the previous meeting.

Governance and Policy Update

The Board was scheduled to receive an update on governance and policy matters affecting the Firefighter Pension Schemes. This included a review of actions required to comply with the Pension Regulator's General Code of Practice, with 63 identified areas of partial compliance. The target completion date for these actions was 31 August 2026. The report pack indicated that 20 actions were marked as amber, meaning they required further attention, while 28 were complete and 15 were green. Updates to the Firefighter Pension Schemes Breaches Policy were also to be presented for approval. The Board's Terms of Reference were also under review to ensure full compliance with the General Code of Practice, with proposed updates including linking them to the Recruitment and Retention Policy and highlighting adherence to the Warwickshire County Council Code of Conduct. The Risk Policy had also been updated to clarify assessment criteria for risk scores and incorporate guidelines for recording mitigating actions.

Regulatory updates were also on the agenda, including information about the Annual Firefighter Pension Conference scheduled for 6-7 October 2026, which would focus on the future of firefighter pensions. An informal consultation on the Firefighters Compensation Scheme, covering areas such as the changing role of firefighters, modernisation of the scheme, calculation methodologies, governance, and funding arrangements, was also to be discussed, with Warwickshire's responses included in the report. Amendments to the Firefighters' Pension Scheme for Retained Firefighters, which came into effect on 1 April 2026, were also to be noted, along with confirmation of annual revaluation, earnings, and pensions increase rates from April 2026. Information on Local Pension Board training opportunities, including sessions in January 2027 and refresher courses in July and October 2026, was also provided. The Board's forward plan for the next 12 months was also to be reviewed.

Firefighter Pension Schemes Administration Update

The Board was scheduled to review the administration of the Firefighter Pension Schemes, with a report from West Yorkshire Pension Fund (WYPF), the service provider since 1 April 2022. The report detailed work undertaken, key performance indicators, and other relevant information. WYPF had achieved 100% in all key performance indicator measures for April 2026.

A significant item was the second Matthews retained exercise, which allows retained firefighters to buy back pension service in the 2006 scheme. As of April 2026, out of 155 identified members in scope, 110 had returned an expression of wish, and 88 had elected to purchase service. The report also noted that 8 deceased members had been identified within this exercise, with two death payments made. The report indicated that the Pension Administration Service (PAS) was awaiting an updated calculator from the Government Actuary Department (GAD) to progress amendments related to death benefits and the conversion of standard to special service. The national deadline for this project was 31 March 2027, and the PAS expressed confidence in meeting it.

Regarding the age discrimination remedy, 33 refunds had been made to active members of the 2006 scheme who had received their Annual Benefit Statement (ABS) and opted to claim the refund. No members of the 1992 or 2006 modified scheme had chosen to pay owed contributions after receiving their ABS. The report also mentioned that the service provider for the pensions dashboard had been confirmed, and fire pension schemes were in the process of connecting to it. HMRC had been informed of unauthorised lump sum tax charge payments by the deadline, and an event report informing HMRC of pension savings statement recipients was still to be completed. Financial data for pensioners and deferred cases was being transferred following a change in the operating model by WYPF.

Risk Review

The Board was scheduled to consider a review of the risks facing the administration of the Firefighters' Pension Schemes. The risk register, maintained by the Pensions Administration Service, identifies risks and allocates responsibility to either Warwickshire County Council as the Scheme Manager or West Yorkshire Pension Fund as the third-party administrator.

The risk register had been updated in two areas. Risk 2, Inability to keep up with demand, had its inherent risk scoring adjusted under the likelihood category, resulting in an overall inherent risk score of 15, with the residual risk score remaining unchanged. Risk 7, Fraud and Corruption, had been updated to reflect the Pension Scams Action Group, a multi-agency group providing tools and guidance to combat pension scams. A risk map was also provided to illustrate the final risk scores. The report noted that risk scores had not needed to be changed following the most recent review, but some sections had had their risk causes or controls edited. For example, technological changes were noted as potentially affecting staff's ability to keep up with demand, and budget announcements might influence decisions on accessing pensions. Other risks updated included lack of capacity or competence, following new training for scheme managers, and dashboard readiness.

General Business

The meeting was scheduled to begin with general business, including apologies for absence and declarations of interest from Board members. The public minutes of the previous meeting, held on 9 February 2026, were also to be reviewed and approved.