The Pension Committee of Croydon Council met on Tuesday 17 March 2026 to discuss a range of financial and operational matters concerning the Croydon Pension Fund. Key items on the agenda included the adoption of the Funding Strategy Statement, the review of audit findings for the 2024/25 financial year, and the approval of the Pension Fund's Medium Term Business Plan for 2026-2029. The committee also received updates on the Fund's investments, administration performance, and regulatory matters.

Review of Funding Strategy Statement

The committee was asked to adopt the Fund's Funding Strategy Statement (FSS) and related policy documents. This statement, prepared by Croydon Council as the Administering Authority for the Croydon Pension Fund, outlines how the Fund's pension liabilities will be met. The FSS is reviewed every three years as part of the triennial valuation process, with interim reviews to ensure its continued appropriateness. A draft FSS had been presented in September 2025 and approved subject to consultation with the Fund's employers. Following this consultation, the committee was asked to adopt the FSS and associated policies as final to enable the Fund Actuary to complete the statutory valuation report by the deadline of 31 March 2026. The report also summarised the outcome of the consultation process with employers, noting that most found the FSS helpful and that sufficient detail and time were provided for responses.

Audit Findings Report - Pension Fund Annual Report and Financial Statements for 2024/25

The committee received an update on the completion of the audit of the Croydon Pension Fund's Annual Report and Financial Statements for 2024/25. The final Audit Findings Report was presented, along with the auditor's opinion on the Financial Statements and the auditor's consistency opinion for inclusion in the Pension Fund Annual Report. It was noted that due to national audit timetables and challenges in prior years, the auditor was unable to complete sufficient work to support an unmodified audit opinion, resulting in a disclaimer of opinion on the financial statements and the Pension Fund Annual Report. The report detailed several disclosure misstatements and management recommendations arising from the audit procedures, and highlighted that while progress had been made, further work was required to re-establish audit assurance for future years.

Pension Fund Medium Term Business Plan 2026/29

A draft Business Plan for the Croydon Pension Fund for the financial years 2026/27 to 2028/29 was presented for the committee's comments and agreement. The plan outlined the strategic direction, governance arrangements, and work programme for the management and administration of the Fund. It also highlighted significant legislative changes progressing through Parliament, including the Pensions Scheme Bill and proposed regulations concerning pooling, management, and investment of funds, as well as amendments to governance, training, and conflicts of interest policies. The plan also detailed the Fund's aims and objectives, key statistics, a review of the 2025/26 year, and the work programme for the coming years, including routine duties and project-based tasks related to governance, funding, administration, and investments.

Croydon Pensions Administration Reporting for the Period November 2025 to January 2026

The committee received a report detailing the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for the administration of the Local Government Pension Scheme for the three-month period ending January 2026. The report indicated that the team had generally met targets for most indicators, with the exception of deferred benefit calculations, which remained below expected levels. A plan was in place to address older deferred benefit cases. The report also noted an increase in member self-service portal sign-ups following the release of Annual Benefit Statements and highlighted significant manual work undertaken to update payroll numbers for over 700 school records. The team had also begun recalculating pensions for those affected by the McCloud remedy. A Senior Pensions Officer had retired and recruitment was underway, meaning the team would be understaffed until the position was filled. The report also referenced upcoming legislative changes from the LGPS in England and Wales: Access and Fairness consultation, including survivor benefits and gender pension gap reporting, and changes to councillor and mayor LGPS entitlement, noting that the short lead times for these changes would place a burden on the administration team due to system readiness. Updates on the Pensions Dashboard programme were also included.

Review of Breaches of the Law

The committee was presented with an extract from the current Breaches of the Law log for the Pension Fund, highlighting changes since the last review in December 2025. Three new entries had been added relating to failures to pay refunds within regulatory deadlines, and one new entry concerning the failure to publish the audited Annual Report and Accounts for 2024/25 by the regulatory deadline. Three older entries, over three years old, had been removed from the log. The report detailed the description, cause, possible effects, reaction, and outcome of each breach, with a colour rating system indicating their severity. All 17 breaches on the extract were noted as closed.

Review of Risk Register

The committee was asked to review and note the contents of the Pension Fund Risk Register. The report explained that risks are rated on a scale of 1 to 5 for likelihood and impact, with a total score of between 1 and 25. The register showed 17 risks, with 10 identified as significant (scoring 10 or higher). It was noted that with planned future controls, the number of significant risks could be reduced to 5. Three new risks had been added relating to planned regulatory changes from the Access and Fairness, Access and Protections, and Fit for the Future consultations, which could impact staffing resources and potentially lead to fund mergers due to failure to implement requirements.

Progress Report for the Quarter Ended 31 December 2025

This report provided an update on the Fund's investments and funding position for the quarter ending 31 December 2025. The market value of the Fund's investments increased to £2,166.8m, with a quarterly return of 2.7%. The report detailed performance against strategic goals, asset allocation strategy, and risk management. It noted that the indicative funding position at 31 December 2025 was 148%, with a 92% likelihood of achieving the required investment return. The report also outlined the current asset allocation against the target, with specific updates on Developed Equity, Fixed Interest, Infrastructure, Private Equity, Property, and Cash. The report indicated that while the Fund's cashflow from members was negative, investment income and asset performance were expected to cover liabilities.

Local Government Pension Scheme Advisory Board and The Pensions Regulator Update

The committee received an update on matters being considered by the Local Government Pension Scheme Advisory Board (SAB) and The Pensions Regulator (TPR) that are relevant to the Fund. The report detailed recent publications and consultations from the SAB, including updated statements on LGPS management, responses to consultations on Access and Protections, Fit for the Future, and the LGPS Code of Transparency. It also highlighted the Board's response to CIPFA's Code of Practice on Local Authority Financial Reporting and its statements on fiduciary duty and lobbying. Updates on TPR's Enforcement Strategy consultation were also provided. The report noted that while TPR had not published anything specifically relevant to the LGPS in the last twelve months, proposed changes to local audit reform, including the separation of pension fund accounts from administering authority main accounts, were welcomed.

Exclusion of the Press and Public

A motion was moved and seconded to exclude the press and public from the remainder of the meeting. This was proposed on the grounds that the following items of business involved the likely disclosure of exempt information falling within Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972, and that the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighed the public interest in disclosing the information. The committee agreed to exclude the press and public for the remainder of the meeting.

The following items were then discussed in private:

• Part B - Progress Report for Quarter Ended 31 December 2025
• Part B - Investment Strategy Review