The Leicestershire County Council Local Pension Board met on Wednesday 29 October 2025 in the Framland Committee Room at County Hall. The agenda included a review of the pension fund's administration, indicative valuation results, funding strategy, risk management, and internal controls. Members were also scheduled to discuss future meeting dates and any urgent items raised by the Chair.

Pension Fund Valuation and Funding Strategy

The board was scheduled to review the indicative whole fund valuation results and proposed changes to the fund's Funding Strategy Statement (FSS). According to the report pack, local government pension schemes (LGPS) are required to have an actuarial valuation¹ carried out every three years. The main purpose of this valuation is for the Fund Actuary to set employer contribution rates for a three-year period.

The report pack noted that the fund's funding position had improved from 105% at the 31 March 2022 valuation, to 140% at the 31 March 2025 valuation. It was also noted that employer rates were being calculated by the Fund Actuary, and early indications suggested employers were likely to be in surplus.

The report pack stated that the Fund would retain a 120% funding buffer, and included a table that detailed the employer contribution rate, dependent on the employer funding level:

Employer Funding Level	Total Contribution Rate
Between 101% and 120%	Employer pays their primary contribution rate
Greater than 120% funded	Employer is allowed to benefit from a contribution rate reduction (via a negative Secondary Rate), to gradually reduce their funding level down to 120%
	Employer may pay up to a maximum of 3% less than the Primary Rate to support the aims of stability and inter-generational fairness

The report pack also included the Fund's draft FSS, and noted that officers had used the opportunity to review the style, content and presentation of the FSS in response to updated guidance provided by the Scheme Advisory Board (SAB), Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) and Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA).

Risk Management and Internal Controls

The Local Pension Board was scheduled to be informed of any changes relating to the risk management and internal controls of the Pension Fund. The report pack included the latest version of the Fund's risk register, which had been approved by the Local Pension Committee on 26 September 2025.

The 19 risks are split into six different risk areas: investment, liability, employer, governance, operational and regulatory. The report pack noted that there had been a handful of updates to text on four existing risks since the previously approved risk register, and no changes to risk scores.

The four risks that had been updated were:

• Risk 1: Market investment returns are consistently poor, and this causes significant upward pressure onto employer contribution rates
• Risk 2: Market Return are acceptable, but the performance achieved by the Fund is below reasonable expectations
• Risk 11: Investment decisions are made without having sufficient expertise to properly assess the risks and potential returns
• Risk 18 Proposed changes as a result of Government propositions relating to regulations, guidance in relation to pooling and local government reorganisation/devolution.

Pension Fund Administration Report

The Local Pension Board was scheduled to be informed of the main administrative actions in the second quarter period from July to September 2025. The report covered governance areas including administration of Fund benefits and the performance of the Pensions Section against its performance indicators.

The report pack included tables showing the volumes in each work area during the months July to September 2025, and a RAG rating² to each work area to highlight which areas are below target, close to target, or good or better than target.

The report pack also noted that one new case had been received by The Pensions Ombudsman (TPO) in relation to a rejected application for the early release of pension on the grounds of permanent ill health, and that one new Stage 2 IDRP was received in the quarter also in relation to a rejected application for the release of pension on the grounds of permanent ill health.

The report pack stated that officers continue to work on the Fund's new websites, and are currently working with Heywood on a new 'self service' website as the existing site is due to reach 'end of life' on 31 January 2026.

With regards to McCloud, the report pack noted that officers have been finalising a process to deal with the adjustment of pensions for pensioners who are eligible for an increase under the remedy, and that it is expected that work will begin by the end of October.

With regards to the Pension Dashboards Programme (PDP), the report pack noted that phase two of the exercise to connect to the Dashboard eco-system concluded on 1 October 2025, and that Heywood were able to confirm that Leicestershire's ISP live connection was successfully submitted through the PDP connections portal and has been approved by the PDP.

The report pack also included a table detailing outstanding admission agreements and bonds.

Other items

The agenda also included:

• Minutes of the meeting held on 3 September 2025
• Appointment of Vice Chairman
• Question Time
• To advise of any other items which the Chairman has decided to take as urgent elsewhere on the agenda
• Declarations of interest in respect of items on the agenda
• Dates of Future Meetings
• Any other items which the Chairman has decided to take as urgent.