The Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Fire and Rescue Service Local Pension Board met on 24 July 2025 to discuss a business update, which included membership movements, bulletins from the Local Government Association (LGA) Firefighters' Pension Scheme (FPS), governance, and updates on the Age Discrimination Remedy and the Matthews Second Options Exercise. The board was also scheduled to discuss any other urgent business.

Business Update

The board was scheduled to note the business update, seeking clarification and assurance from officers as required. The update included:

• Membership movements in the firefighters' pension schemes for the quarter ending 30 June 2025.
• Ongoing and future business issues faced by the Cornwall Pension Fund team in relation to the administration of the Firefighters' Pension Schemes.

The business update report included the following topics:

• Membership Movements
• LGA FPS Bulletins
• Firefighters' Pension Schemes Risk register
• Firefighters' Pension Schemes Breaches log
• Firefighters' Pension Schemes Complaints log
• Update on any ongoing appeals going through the Internal Disputes Resolution Procedure (IDRP)
• CFRS Finance update
• Any other business issues

LGA FPS Bulletins

The board was scheduled to discuss bulletins issued by the LGA FPS in the previous quarter. These bulletins provide updates and guidance on various aspects of the Firefighters' Pension Scheme. The specific bulletins for discussion were:

• Bulletin 92 – April 2025
• Bulletin 93 – May 2025

The agenda noted actions arising from the bulletins for scheme managers, administrators and local pension boards.

Governance

The agenda included discussion of the Firefighters' Pension Schemes Risk Register, which the CFRS LPB approved in February 2017. The CFRS LPB also approved the proposal that the Risk Register formed part of the Business Update as a standing item, with any changes to risks/direction of travel being brought to the Board's attention in the Business Update. No new risks have been added to the Risk Register since the last meeting, but additional information has been added to Risk 23 to reflect the progress that has been made with the Pensions Dashboard Programme since the last meeting.

The agenda also included discussion of the Breaches Register. The Scheme Manager is required to maintain a log of all breaches of the law as applicable to the management and administration of the Fund and an updated Register can be found at Appendix 3. All incidents of breaches identified must be recorded in the Breaches Register, even if they are not reported to the Regulator. This Register will be reviewed on an on-going basis to determine any trends in the Breaches Register that might indicate any serious failings or fraudulent behaviour.

The board was also scheduled to discuss the Firefighters' Pension Schemes Complaint log, including a summary of complaints and resolutions. Since the last LPB meeting there had been two complaints, both from ex-retained firefighters who are eligible for the Matthews Second Options exercise.

IDRP and CFRS Finance

The agenda included an update on any ongoing appeals going through the Internal Disputes Resolution Procedure (IDRP). Since the last LPB meeting there had been one appeal under the IDRP process, from a firefighter who had initially been excluded from the Matthews Second Options exercise.

The board was also scheduled to receive an update from CFRS Finance, including discussion of the HMRC Audit, Age Discrimination Remedy Pensions Compensation Payments, and Home Office Pensions account forecasting for 2025-26.

Age Discrimination Remedy (McCloud/Sargeant)

The board was scheduled to discuss the Age Discrimination Remedy, also known as McCloud/Sargeant, which addresses age discrimination in pension schemes. The changes to remove future discrimination were brought into force on 1 April 2022. To remove future discrimination from the scheme and ensure equal treatment, all remaining protected members who were not already members of FPS 2015 transferred into this scheme on 1 April 2022.

Matthews Second Options Exercise

The board was scheduled to discuss the Matthews Second Options Exercise, which allows eligible retained firefighters to purchase pension entitlement as a special member of the FPS 2006. The Options Exercise was originally scheduled to run for a maximum period of 18 months, from October 2023 to March 2025. However, a consultation was recently conducted by the Home Office to amend the relevant regulations and extend the deadline.

Secondary Contracts

The board was scheduled to discuss an issue identified with the way that contracts for some Wholetime firefighters who have undertaken On Call (retained) duties under a secondary contract have been administered. A challenge has been made against these secondary contracts stating that they are not in fact two contracts of employment but instead should be treated as a schedule appended to their wholetime contract and essentially only one contract of employment exists for both wholetime and on call duties.

Pensions Dashboards Programme

The board was scheduled to discuss the Pensions Dashboards Programme (PDP). Pensions Dashboards are online platforms designed to provide individuals with a comprehensive view of their pension savings, including their State Pension, all in one place. The UK government has mandated that all relevant pension schemes must connect to the Pensions Dashboards ecosystem by 31st October 2026.