The Hertfordshire Fire Pension Board met on Monday 20 July 2026 to elect its Chair and Vice-Chair, review the pension fund's risk register, and discuss performance reports. Key decisions included the election of Peter Hill as Vice-Chair and the noting of various performance reports and draft accounts.

Election of Chair and Vice-Chair

The meeting began with the annual election of the board's Chair and Vice-Chair. As per the rotation, the Chair was to be elected from the employer representatives and the Vice-Chair from the member representatives. John Boulter was nominated and elected as Chair, though he was unable to attend the meeting. Peter Hill was subsequently elected as Vice-Chair and took over the chairmanship for the remainder of the meeting. Dan Bathurst and Robert Senior were welcomed as new substitute member representatives.

Pension Fund Risk Register Report

The board reviewed the Hertfordshire Fire Pension Scheme Risk Register for the period of January to March 2026. Three risks were identified as exceeding the tolerated risk threshold:

• Risk A1: Ineffective management (governance) of the Fund and Risk A2: Skills or knowledge gaps at the Administering Authority. These risks were attributed to the retirement of the Head of Pensions at the end of March 2026. While the role has been filled, the risk remains above tolerance until the previous Governance Manager's position is backfilled.
• Risk E1: Poor administration, including failures/delays in implementing regulatory changes. This risk remains elevated due to ongoing delays with the McCloud remedy, specifically with Immediate Choice – Retrospective Service Statement (IC-RSS) payments. Despite progress, further work is needed to resolve outstanding cases, particularly for tapered and protected members.

The board noted the contents of the report and the risk register.

Hertfordshire Fire Pension Scheme LPPA Performance Report (Q4 2025/26)

Scott Mackerel presented the performance report for the Hertfordshire Fire Pension Scheme for the fourth quarter of 2025/26.

• Casework Performance: Overall casework performance was 96.2%, meeting Service Level Agreements (SLAs). A dip in performance in January 2026 was attributed to a reporting error affecting retirement cases, though member payments were not impacted.
• Contact Centre Performance: The average call wait time was one minute and 45 seconds, well within the four-minute target.
• Customer Satisfaction: Satisfaction scores from after-call surveys were low, with an overall satisfaction rate of 37.5%. However, satisfaction with individual contact centre agents was higher at 80%. Response rates for retirement surveys were very low, with a 0% response rate for active retirements and a single negative response for deferred retirements.
• Member Self-Service: PensionPoint usage and registrations were trending upwards. A member self-serve online calculator was launched but had to be taken offline due to escape rate changes, pending the release of updated factors.
• Accreditations and Awards: LPPA successfully achieved PASA accreditation¹ (Pension Administration Standards Association) and was re-certified for Cyber Essentials Plus. They were also shortlisted for several UK Professional Pension Awards.
• McCloud Remedy: Significant progress was made in issuing Immediate Choice Remedial Service Statements (ICRSSs) by the 31 March deadline. Communications were issued to members who had not yet received their ICRSS, explaining the reasons for the delay.
• Data Quality: The common scheme data accuracy rate was 97.7%, while the scheme-specific target was 88.6%. The lower scheme-specific score was attributed to members who had not yet received an Annual Benefit Statement (ABS), particularly those in retained, modified, or 2006 special schemes. Functionality to address this was expected shortly.
• Escape Rate Change: LPPA mobilised significant resources to implement changes related to the escape rate change announced by the government, with new commutation factors for the 1992 scheme released and processed quickly. However, early retirement factors for the 2015 scheme were still awaited.

The board noted and commented on the report.

Report on Age Discrimination and Remedy

Rachel Wilson provided an update on the progress of the age discrimination remedy.

• Active Retirements: Processes for active retirements affected by the remedy were working well, with 38 out of 41 cases paid. Three cases were pending payment, with two expected to be paid by October 2026.
• Contingent Decisions: Three contingent decision claims were outstanding, awaiting statements from LPPA. These had been prioritised after the issuance of IC-RSSs.
• Immediate Choice Remedial Service Statements (IC-RSS): As of 30 June 2026, 15 ICRSS remained outstanding. These included one ill-health case with GAD, two due to validation errors, and 12 related to the Matthews Modified exercise. Revised timescales for deceased cases (31 December 2026) and other outstanding statements (31 March 2027) had been communicated.
• Payments to Pensioners: Of 35 requested payments, 33 had been completed, with two outstanding.

The board noted the content of the report.

Report on Second Options Exercise for Retained Firefighters

Rachel Wilson also provided an update on the second options exercise for retained firefighters.

• Expressions of Interest: 179 expression of interest forms had been received, with 168 requesting a quote. 153 quotes had been issued, with 12 outstanding. Of the quotes issued, 116 election forms had been returned, with 6 outstanding.
• Matthews Amendments: 44 members were identified as being in scope for the amendment legislation. Expression of interest forms had been sent to all identified members, with 7 received back. Quotes would be issued once the new GAD calculator was available.
• Quarterly Reporting: The LGA had requested quarterly progress reports, with Hertfordshire reporting 384 cases identified, 364 individuals located, and 179 expressing interest.

The board noted the content of the report.

Firefighters Pension Fund Draft Accounts 2025/26

Robert Winterton presented the draft accounts for the Firefighters' Pension Fund for the financial year 2025/26.

• Deficit: The fund showed a deficit of £10.5 million for the year, which was met by a Central Government top-up grant, bringing the account to a nil balance.
• Contributions: Employer contributions totalled £8.1 million, an increase of £0.3 million from the previous year. Employee contributions totalled £3.7 million, an increase of £0.7 million.
• Benefits Paid: Total benefits paid amounted to £22.3 million, an increase of over £4 million from the previous year.
• Net Assets: There were no net assets of the pension fund, with any assets or liabilities being met by the government.
• Membership Data: Active members increased by 1.8%, deferred members by 4.8%, and pensioners by 7.1%.

The board noted and commented on the report.

Dates of Future Meetings

The board noted the dates for future meetings: 9 October 2026, 18 December 2026, 12 March 2027, and 25 June 2027, all commencing at 10:00 AM.