The Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Local Pension Board of the Firefighters' Pension Scheme met on Monday 1 June 2026 to discuss updates on governance and policy, administration of the Firefighter Pension Schemes, and a review of risks. The meeting also covered the minutes of the previous meeting.

Governance and Policy Update

The Board was scheduled to receive an update on governance and policy matters affecting Firefighter Pension Schemes. This included progress on an action plan to ensure compliance with the Pension Regulator's General Code of Practice, with a target completion date of 31 August 2026. Of the 63 identified areas for action, 20 were marked as amber, indicating potential workload pressures from third parties could impact completion timelines. The report pack included a draft recruitment and retention policy and proposed updates to the Local Pension Board's Terms of Reference, which would require approval from Warwickshire County Council.

Updates on regulatory matters were also on the agenda, including information about the Annual Firefighter Pension Conference scheduled for 6-7 October 2026, which would focus on the future of firefighter pensions. An informal consultation on the Firefighters Compensation Scheme had taken place, with Warwickshire's responses included in the report pack. Amendments to the Firefighters' Pension Scheme for Retained Firefighters were due to take effect from 1 April 2026, with a calculator expected to be available by the end of June 2026. The report also detailed confirmation of annual revaluation, earnings, and pensions increase rates from HM Treasury, effective from April 2026. Information on Local Pension Board training opportunities, including sessions in January 2027 and refresher courses in July and October 2026, was also provided.

Firefighter Pension Schemes Administration Update

The Board was scheduled to review the latest administration report from West Yorkshire Pension Fund (WYPF), which provides the pension administration service for Warwickshire County Council. The report for April 2026 indicated that WYPF had achieved 100% in all key performance indicator measures.

A significant focus was the second Matthews retained exercise, which allows retained firefighters to buy back pension service in the 2006 scheme prior to 1 July 2000. As of April 2026, 155 members were identified as being in scope, with 110 having returned an expression of wish and 88 electing to purchase service. The report noted that 8 deceased members had been identified within this exercise, with two death payments made. The national deadline for this project is 31 March 2027, and WYPF expressed confidence in meeting this deadline.

Regarding the age discrimination remedy, 33 refunds had been made to active members of the 2006 scheme who had received their Annual Benefit Statement and opted to claim the refund. No members of the 1992 or 2006 modified scheme had chosen to pay owed contributions following the issuing of their statements. An Oversight Board had been created to work with clients and scheme managers on priorities for individual Fire and Rescue Services.

Risk Review

The Board was to consider a review of the risks facing the administration of the Firefighters' Pension Schemes. The risk register, maintained by the Pensions Administration Service, identifies risks and allocates responsibility to either Warwickshire County Council as the Scheme Manager or West Yorkshire Pension Fund as the third-party administrator.

The risk register had been updated in two areas. Risk 2, Inability to keep up with demand, had its inherent risk scoring updated, resulting in an overall inherent risk score of 15, with the residual risk score remaining unchanged. Risk 7, Fraud and Corruption, had been updated to reflect the Pension Scams Action Group, a multi-agency group providing tools and guidance to combat pension scams. A risk map was also provided to illustrate the final risk scores. The report indicated that risk scores had not needed to be changed following the most recent review, although some risk causes and controls had been edited. These included technological changes affecting staff working methods and the potential impact of government budget changes on pension access decisions. Other risks to be updated included a lack of capacity or competence following new training for scheme managers, and dashboard readiness.