The Havering Council Local Pension Board met on 14 October 2025 to discuss several key items, including a pensions administration update, the communication plans for the Havering Pension Fund, and the annual report. The board was also scheduled to consider feedback from recent Pensions Committee meetings and an engagement plan for the Funding Strategy Statement.

Pension Fund Annual Report

The board was asked to review the draft Pension Fund Annual Report for the year ending 31 March 2025. The report was prepared in accordance with regulation 57 of the Local Government Pension Scheme Regulations 2013, and included:

• Details of overall fund management
• Details of governance and training undertaken by board and committee members
• Financial performance
• Fund account and net asset statement
• Investments and funding including pooling
• Scheme administration including key performance indicators
• Actuarial report
• External audit report
• Clear links to the Funding Strategy Statement, Investment Strategy Statement, Governance Compliance Statement and Communication Strategy.

The report also included a compliance checklist and noted that the annual report would be published electronically. The Chair of the Pensions Committee and the Statutory Section 151 Officer were to be authorised to conclude the final version and sign the annual report.

The report noted that the 2024/25 Pension Fund Annual Report was still subject to audit by Ernst & Young as part of the overall audit of the council's accounts. Therefore, in order to meet the 1 December statutory publication, the annual report would be published as unaudited.

Pensions Administration Update

The Local Pension Board was scheduled to discuss the Pensions Administration Update for the first quarter of 2025-26. The report included a review of the performance of the Local Pensions Partnership Administration (LPPA) against agreed service levels, as well as updates on developments within the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) regulatory environment.

According to the report, overall performance against service level agreements for the quarter was 99.1%, exceeding the required 95% target in all areas. The report also noted improvements in elapsed times for completed retirement cases.

Fund officers were reportedly monitoring and working with LPPA on cases outstanding for more than 6 months, with delays attributed to tracing next of kin, obtaining probate for deceased members, and employers not responding to queries.

The report also included data on retirement satisfaction surveys, call centre performance, and complaint data. LPPA reportedly received 7 complaints during the quarter, carrying forward 7 complaints from the previous quarter.

Other topics covered in the report were:

• Fund valuation data submission
• McCloud remedy implementation¹
• Annual benefit statements
• Pensions dashboards

Communications Plan Update

The Local Pension Board was scheduled to discuss the Havering Pension Fund Communication Plans for 2025/26. The communication plan was in accordance with the Communications Policy for the London Borough of Havering Pension Fund, which was agreed and published in November 2024.

The plan details key communications with stakeholders, including the method and frequency of communications, and includes separate plans for both employers and members.

The report also included data on the percentage of active members registered for PensionPoint² and those holding a nominated beneficiary as of September 2024, March 2025 and August 2025.

The report noted that Prudential newsletters were not sent in June and would be sent at a later date, affecting a small number of members who would also receive communications directly from Prudential.

Funding Strategy Statement Engagement Plan

The Local Pension Board was scheduled to discuss the proposed engagement plan for the Funding Strategy Statement (FSS). The engagement plan outlines how the fund planned to involve stakeholders in the decision-making process, setting out the scope of engagement, identifying stakeholders, and establishing communication and feedback mechanisms.

The purpose of a FSS is to:

establish a clear and transparent fund-specific strategy that will identify how employers' pension liabilities will be met going forward. support the desirability of maintaining as constant and stable primary contribution rate as possible, as defined in Regulation 62(5) of the Local Government Pension Scheme (England and Wales) Regulations 2013 and Regulation 60 of the Local Government Pension Scheme (Scotland) Regulations 2018 ensure that the regulatory requirements to set contributions to ensure the solvency and long-term cost efficiency of the fund. explain how the fund balances the interests of different employers. explain how the fund deals with conflicts of interest and references other policies/strategies.

A draft engagement plan had been developed, and the board was asked to provide input on how best to communicate and engage with stakeholders.

Feedback from Recent Meetings of the Pensions Committee

The Local Pension Board was scheduled to receive reports from the Pension Committee meetings held on 30 September 2025.

The papers from the Pension Committee meeting were available on the council's website, with the exception of exempt papers.

Highlights of the papers included:

• Pension Fund Performance Monitoring for the quarter ending 30 June 2025
• McCloud Administration Update
• LGPS – Fit for the Future" - LCIV Pooling update - Pensions Schemes Bill
• State Pension Age (SPA)
• LGPS – Access & Fairness Consultation

The report presented to the Pensions Committee provided evidence to the board as to the fund's compliance with scheme regulations relating to the governance and administration of the scheme and to provide assurances that its monitoring processes are in line with TPR best practice.