The Greater Manchester Pension Fund (GMPF) - Local Pensions Board is scheduled to meet on 25 September 2025 at Guardsman Tony Downes House, Droylsden. The board will be considering a range of topics, including a summary of GMPF decision making, an administration update, and a review of internal audit plans. Several items on the agenda may be discussed in private due to the disclosure of information that could prejudice the commercial interests of the fund.

Here are the topics scheduled for discussion:

2025 Actuarial Valuation

The board is scheduled to receive an update on the 2025 actuarial valuation¹, which commenced on 31 March 2025. The GMPF's actuary, Hymans Robertson, reportedly delivered a presentation to the GMPF Pension Fund Management Panel at their July 2025 meeting, and members of the board have been provided with the presentation slides.

That the Local Board notes the report, the points highlighted in the presentation from Hymans Robertson, and the key factors potentially impacting valuation outcomes.

Pension Dashboard Update

The Local Pensions Board is scheduled to discuss the government's pensions dashboard project. The Strategic Lead, Developments and Technologies is expected to provide an overview of the pensions dashboard, with a project highlight report detailing the project's progress so far.

The report pack notes that the Pensions Dashboards Programme has successfully connected the first pension provider to the Pensions Dashboards Central Digital Architecture. GMPF has established an internal project team to meet its statutory requirements, and a Data Protection Impact Assessment has been undertaken.

The report pack states that the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA) has highlighted key risks facing the dashboard project and pension schemes, including those around GDPR compliance.

Local Board Governance Report for Employers

The board is scheduled to review the 2025 Governance report for employers. This report provides GMPF's employers with an overview of the fund's performance and feedback on areas that the Local Board believes employers should note. The report is reportedly in broadly the same format as the previous year.

The Pensions Regulator (TPR)

The Assistant Director, Pensions Administration, is expected to present a report providing an update on the work undertaken by the Scheme Manager to ensure compliance with the expectations of The Pensions Regulator (TPR).

The report pack includes a copy of the current breaches log (excluding late payments of contributions) and the criteria used to assess whether a breach could be deemed as 'material' in the GMPF Breaches of the Law Policy.

The report pack notes that one of the key requirements of the General Code of Practice is that Scheme Managers operate appropriate systems to ensure that contributions are paid to the Scheme in accordance with requirements in the Scheme Regulations.

The report pack also refers to the McCloud judgement and remedy related to a legal case brought in 2018, and states that GMPF is including the required McCloud information within its Annual Benefits Statements for 2024/25 and will be compliant with the LGPS Regulations and TPR's expectations.

Administration Update

The Assistant Director for Pensions Administration is scheduled to present a report providing an update on key activities that have taken place in the Administration section during the last quarter, including comments on administration performance and on complaints and disputes.

The report pack notes that work on the McCloud project has continued to progress well, and that the procurement exercise to appoint/reappoint a pension administration system provider through the National LGPS framework has now concluded.

The report pack also states that My Pension registration figures continue to increase, with over 230,000 members now registered to access their online account.

Business Planning and Risk Management

The Assistant Director for Pensions Administration is expected to present a report providing details of the current business plan and highlighting the current key risks being monitored.

The report pack details the progress made on the five key strategic projects in the 2025/26 business plan, and notes that all projects are on track, however Investment Pooling is reported as a minor lag.

The report pack states that officers have been reviewing the response to the consultation issued by the government and considering its impact, including the impact on local investments with the combined authority.

Local Board Review of Internal Audit Plans

The Assistant Director Pensions Administration is scheduled to present a report explaining that members of the GMPF Local Board had requested that officers undertake an assurance project for the provision of internal audit services to the Fund.

The report pack provides details of a proposed new plan, together with a summary of the next steps should the Local Board be happy for officers to proceed with putting the new plan into place.

Access and Fairness Consultation Report

The Assistant Director for Pensions Administration is expected to present a report explaining that on 15 May 2025, the government issued a consultation entitled Local Government Pension Scheme in England and Wales: Access and fairness.

The report pack provides details of the proposals within the consultation, together with confirmation that GMPF intends to submit a response and is broadly supportive of the changes proposed.

Summary of GMPF Decision Making

The board is scheduled to consider a report summarising the recommendations made by the GMPF Working Groups over the period from April 2025 to July 2025, which were approved at the Management Panel on 11 July 2025.

The report pack notes that the GMPF Management Panel were informed about the latest developments with the Local Government Pension Scheme (England and Wales): Fit for the future consultation, and that Government had unveiled the Pension Schemes Bill which laid out their plans for LGPS pooling and formalised their consultation proposals.

Review of IT Infrastructure

The Assistant Director for Administration is scheduled to present a report providing the Local Board with information about GMPF's IT infrastructure, and how it is structured, hosted and managed. The report is also expected to highlight key risks and outline how GMPF's IT Infrastructure team proposes to mitigate these risks and create a more modern and resilient IT service that is fit for the future.