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

Pension Fund Regulatory and Policy Report

The committee will be considering updates in the Pension Fund Regulatory and Policy Report relating to the Local Government Pension Scheme. The report includes the Warwickshire Pension Fund Annual Report and Financial Statements, which has been published on the Fund's website. Also included is a regulatory update on the LGPS over the last quarter, including:

• LGPS Statistics for 2024/25 publication: MHCLG published the LGPS Statistics for England Wales 2024 to 2025 on 2nd October. The report includes highlights such as:

  • Total employee contributions into the scheme of £3.2 billion
  • Total employer contributions into the scheme of £10.1 billion
  • 110,678 retirements in 2024/25 which is an increase of 11.2% from the previous year

• September 2025 CPI rate announcement: The annual rate of increase in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for September 2025 was announced as 3.8%. It is government policy to base LGPS pension increases and revaluation of pension accounts on the annual rate of increase in CPI in September the previous year, and LPGS Funds await confirmation that 3.8% will be the rate of increase to apply in April 2026.

• LGPS Governance Conference 2026: The 2026 governance conference is to be held in Cardiff on Thursday 29th and Friday 30th January.

• Understanding Diversity of Representation in the LGPS: The Scheme Advisory Board recently published the results of a survey conducted to understand the diversity of decision makers within the LGPS. The survey found that few funds are collecting demographic data on their pension committees and boards despite a willingness to understand and act on the data it would provide.

• LGPS Access and Protections consultation launched: MHCLG launched a consultation on changes to the LGPS in England and Wales. The proposed changes are categorised into four main areas:

  • Normal Minimum Pension Age
  • LGPS access for mayors and councillors
  • Academies in the LGPS
  • New Fair Deal

The Pension Fund Regulatory and Policy Report includes the Warwickshire Pension Fund draft response to the Access and Protections consultation, and the deadline for LGPS funds to respond is January 2nd 2026.

LGPS Governance Action Plan

The committee will receive an update on the delivery of actions identified in the review of the Fund's governance arrangements conducted by AON. According to the LGPS Governance Action Plan, 93 actions were originally identified, and these were grouped into themes and projects. As of December 2025, the status of these actions is:

The report notes that there has been progress in the number of completed actions and green actions, and a reduction in the number of amber items.

The report also notes that updated terms of reference for the Board and the Committee are being drafted and will be shared electronically with both groups, and that workshops will be arranged in the new year to discuss and take feedback to inform final drafts to proceed for approval through the appropriate governance mechanisms.

The report also refers to the LGPS Fit for the Future consultation and pending Pension Bill, and notes that further activities are being added to the project plan in relation to these. These additional actions are based on the headlines that are expected at the time of writing, but this will be updated in light of the draft regulations and guidance relating to the Pensions Bill which are expected to provide more clarity and more detail. On the 20th November the government launched a technical consultation on the regulations and guidance with a deadline to respond of the 2nd January, and officers are looking at this and engaging with the Border to Coast Pension Partnership and Partner Funds in considering a response.

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). According to the Pension Administration Activity and Performance Update, the Engage roll out programme aims to give members of the pension scheme easier access to their pensions data to better plan for and during retirement. The take up of the member portal, split by different types of members, is as follows:

The report also notes that for the period to end of September 2025, eleven of the sixteen KPIs are meeting the 95% target, and that of the remaining five KPIs that are not hitting the 95% target, two of these are higher than 90%.

In accordance with the Fund's Breaches Policy, there is currently one Red breach, relating to the late payment of contributions from an employer who has been late with other payments in the previous financial year, and two Amber breaches, relating to one provider with two contracts, where required data had not been provided since the start of the contract.

The committee will also receive an update on the Pensions Dashboard Programme (PDP), a government project which will enable individuals to access their pensions information online, securely, and all in one place, thereby supporting better planning for retirement. The Fund met its deadline of 31st October to connect to the national dashboard, and the National Dashboard remains in test phase with the Digital Access Point (the date where it is launched to the public) still to be announced, which is expected to be in late 2026 or early 2027.

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. According to the Review the minutes of the Fire Local Pension Board, the Fire Local Pension Board received updates on the following:

• Age Discrimination Remedy (known as McCloud ): West Yorkshire Pension Fund (WYPF) has completed 87% of active statements for 2025. WYPF is also working on the Annual Benefit Statement Remedial Service Statement 2025 (ABS RSS) due to be issued to in-scope deferred members, and has reported itself to the Pensions Regulator due to delays.
• Second Modified Retained Exercise (known as Matthews ): This project allows firefighters who worked as retained officers between 1 April 2000 and 30 June 2000 to purchase pension service from their start date up to 31 March 2015. Warwickshire has identified 144 individuals in scope, and 92 individuals have identified they would like further information, with further calculations being completed with 51 people electing to purchase the additional pension service so far.
• Risk Register: The highest risk rating in the register 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 delegate authority to the Executive Director for Resources to approve applications to the Pension Fund from the employers listed in Appendix 1, subject to the applications meeting the criteria set out in the Local Government Pension Scheme Regulations 2013.

According to the Employers Joining and Leaving the Pension Fund report, 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 following new academies are proposed to join the fund:

• Griffin Trust (Exhall Grange)
• Stowe Valley MAT (Hillmorton)
• CEAT (Michael Drayton)

The following new employers are also proposed to join the fund:

• Aspens (Nicholas Chamberlaine)
• Miquill (Milverton)
• Miquill (St Marys)
• Kindred (Futures Trust)
• European Electronique Ltd (Alcester Grammar School)

There are no ceasing employers listed in the report.