The Pension Committee of Waltham Forest Council met on Tuesday 14 July 2026 to discuss a range of financial and governance matters relating to the council's pension fund. Key topics included a review of investment performance, updates on administration services, and consideration of the draft pension fund accounts and audit plan.

Presentation from Mercer: Fit for the Future

The committee was scheduled to receive a verbal report from Mercer regarding the Fit for the Future initiative. This initiative, driven by new government regulations effective from 30 June 2026, aims to reform the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) with a focus on pooling, management, and investment strategies. The presentation was expected to provide an update on these government requirements.

Training Report

A report on training was presented, outlining the current training strategy and a draft training plan for the committee members for the 2026/27 period. Committee members were asked to complete a Training Needs Assessment to help shape the future training plan, ensuring they possess the requisite knowledge and skills for their roles. The report detailed various training modules, including those covering pensions legislation, governance, funding strategy, administration, financial strategy, investment, risk management, and climate change. All members were required to complete refreshed modules within three months of the meeting.

Fit for the Future

A report was presented to provide information to the Pension Committee concerning the outcome of the Fit for the Future Regulations. This included checklists for investment and governance regulations to ensure the fund could meet the requirements within the specified timescales. The regulations, laid on 21 May 2026, mandate participation in asset pools, transfer of asset control to these pools, and adherence to specific investment and governance strategies.

Draft Pension Fund Accounts and Audit Plan

The committee was presented with the draft Pension Fund Accounts for the year ending 31 March 2026 and the Audit Plan for the same period, provided by KPMG. The draft accounts indicated an increase in net assets of £77.6m since 31 March 2025. Significant movements in investments were noted, primarily due to rebalancing of the investment strategy, with notable purchases and redemptions from various LCIV funds. The audit plan outlined KPMG's risk assessment and planned approach, focusing on key risk areas such as management override of controls, completeness and accuracy of investments, valuation of investments, and the recording of contributions.

Presentation from the London CIV

A verbal report was scheduled from the London CIV (Collective Investment Vehicle), an organisation established to manage investment assets on behalf of LGPS funds across London. This presentation was likely to cover updates on their activities, investment strategies, and performance.

Administration Services Update

An update on the pension administration services provided by the Pension Shared Service (PSS) partnership was presented. This report included performance statistics for the fourth quarter of 2025/26, covering key work items against targets, customer satisfaction levels, and complaints. The report highlighted the successful implementation of a digital proof of life verification process for overseas pensioners, replacing a less efficient paper-based system. It also detailed employer performance regarding data quality and timeliness of submissions, with a breakdown of invoicing for late or high error-rate submissions.

Pension Performance and Management Expenses

This report provided an update on the performance of the pension fund's investments as of 31 March 2026, with the fund's investments valued at £1,138.6m. It also summarised the actual expenses for 2025/26 and presented the budget for 2026/27. The report noted that total expenditure for 2025/26 exceeded the budget by £223k, primarily due to additional work on the Triennial Actuarial Valuation, implementation of the new Investment Strategy, and costs related to new software for PSS administration. The 2026/27 budget was set at £2.339m, an increase of £239,284, including a £150,000 allocation for ad hoc support. A three-year cashflow forecast was also presented, indicating projected cash surpluses. The report highlighted that the fund was on target to meet its overall strategic objective based on the Consumer Price Index plus a margin, following the 2025 triennial valuation. However, it also detailed underperformance by several fund managers, including LCIV's Global Equity Focus Fund and Global Alpha Growth Paris Aligned Fund, and noted significant fluctuations in the ABT Leisure Property Fund due to a change in valuation methodology and restructuring.