The Staff and Pensions Committee are scheduled to meet to discuss the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) governance, regulatory updates, and the performance of pension administration. They will also review the minutes of the Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Local Pension Board, and consider employers joining and leaving the pension fund.

Pension Fund Regulatory and Policy Report

The committee will be provided with the Warwickshire Pension Fund Annual Report and Financial Statements, and will be asked to consider regulatory updates on the LGPS.

The report pack highlights several key updates and consultations:

• LGPS Statistics for 2024/25: The Pension Fund Regulatory and Policy Report notes the publication of LGPS statistics for England and Wales, including total employee contributions of £3.2 billion and employer contributions of £10.1 billion.
• September 2025 CPI Rate: The annual rate of increase in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for September 2025 was announced as 3.8%. The report pack says that the LPGS Funds await confirmation that 3.8% will be the rate of increase to apply in April 2026.

• LGPS Access and Protections Consultation: The report pack refers to a consultation on changes to the LGPS in England and Wales, with proposed changes in four main areas:

  • Normal Minimum Pension Age: The government plans to increase the minimum age at which scheme members can take their pension from 55 to 57 in April 2028. The consultation sets out protections for members of the LGPS to keep their Protected Pension Age of 55, mainly applying to members who were part of the LGPS before 4 November 2021.
  • LGPS access for mayors and councillors: Proposed changes would allow councillors of County and District Councils to join the LGPS.
  • Academies in the LGPS: The government is proposing changes to the rules covering applications by academies for a direction to change administering authority.
  • New Fair Deal: The government is proposing to extend protections set out in the 2013 Fair Deal guidance[^2] to LGPS members who are transferred to a new employer when a local government contract is outsourced. [^2]: The Fair Deal for Staff Pensions is a government policy that protects the pension rights of public sector workers when they are compulsorily transferred to a new employer, such as when a service is outsourced. It ensures that affected employees can continue to access a public service pension scheme, or a broadly comparable alternative.

The report pack includes a draft of the Warwickshire Pension Fund's response to the Access and Protections consultation in Appendix 1 for Pension Fund Regulatory and Policy Report. The response indicates agreement with keeping the Normal Minimum Pension Age below 57 for members with a Protected Pension Age, but notes the cutoff date for Protected Pension Age is arbitrary. The council also notes that the funding of LGPS access for councillors is expected to be borne by councils, but they would expect costs created by government decisions to be funded by government. The council's response also states that they do not believe it will be possible to prevent contribution rate shopping¹ by academies, and that this could become a significant driver of decision making in Multi-Academy Trusts (MATs)² and academy changes.

LGPS Governance Action Plan

The committee will receive an update on the delivery of actions identified in a review of the Fund's governance arrangements conducted by AON³. The report pack states that 93 actions were originally identified, grouped into themes and projects, and assessed using a RAG rating⁴ to track progress. The LGPS Governance Action Plan states that there has been progress in the number of completed and green actions, and a reduction in amber items. Updated terms of reference for the Board and the Committee are being drafted, with workshops planned to discuss and gather feedback. Business continuity and cyber resilience are also areas of focus.

The report pack also notes additional activities related to the LGPS Fit for the Future consultation and pending Pension Bill, including the potential introduction of a non-voting independent person role into the pension fund committee, a review of representation at the pension fund committee, and the pooling of all assets by April 2026.

Pension Administration Activity and Performance Update

The committee will receive an update on key administration developments and the performance of the Pensions Administration Service (PAS).

The Pension Administration Activity and Performance Update highlights the Engage roll out programme, which aims to give members easier access to their pensions data. The PAS successfully completed the switch from the previous member portal, MSS, to the new Engage system on 29 April 2025.

The report pack also includes key performance indicators (KPIs) for pension administration, with eleven of sixteen KPIs meeting the 95% target. The report pack notes that the Fund has experienced staff changes, leading to a drop in KPI B4, and an increase in incorrect data submitted by some employers has delayed benefit calculations.

The committee will also receive an update on the Pensions Dashboard Programme, a government project to enable individuals to access their pensions information online. The Fund met its deadline of 31 October to connect to the national dashboard.

Review the Minutes of the Fire Local Pension Board

The committee will be asked to review the minutes of the Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Local Pension Board of the Firefighters' Pension Scheme meeting held on 29 September 2025.

The Review the Minutes of the Fire Local Pension Board report pack highlights several key items from the Fire Local Pension Board meeting, including:

• Age Discrimination Remedy (McCloud): West Yorkshire Pension Fund (WYPF)[^7] has completed 87% of active statements for 2025. [^7]: West Yorkshire Pension Fund (WYPF) is one of the largest local authority pension funds in the UK, responsible for managing the pension assets of current and former employees of various public sector organisations in West Yorkshire.
• Second Modified Retained Exercise (Matthews): Warwickshire has identified 144 individuals in scope, and 92 individuals have identified they would like further information.
• Risk Register: The highest risk rating relates to cyber security, which remains the only red risk on the register.
• Pension Dashboard: The fire pension schemes were due to be connected to the national pensions dashboard by the end of October.

Employers Joining and Leaving the Pension Fund

The committee will be asked to consider a report pack about employers joining and leaving the pension fund.

The Employers Joining and Leaving the Pension Fund report pack states that the Pension Fund currently administers the Local Government Pension Scheme for 258 employers, including district and parish councils, civilian staff within the Police and Fire service, colleges, academies and outsourced contracts for admitted employers.

The report pack lists new academies including Griffin Trust (Exhall Grange), Stowe Valley MAT (Hillmorton) and CEAT (Michael Drayton). New employers include Aspens (Nicholas Chamberlaine), Miquill (Milverton), Miquill (St Marys), Kindred (Futures Trust) and European Electronique Ltd (Alcester Grammar School).