The Leicestershire County Council Local Pension Board met on Wednesday, 3 September 2025, at County Hall in Glenfield. The agenda for the meeting included the appointment of a vice chair, reviewing the minutes from the previous meeting, updates on pension fund administration and risk management, and the presentation of the board's annual report. The board was also scheduled to consider the Pension Fund Annual Report and Accounts 2024/25.

Local Pension Board Annual Report

The board was scheduled to approve its annual report for 2024/25. The report, covering April 2024 to March 2025, summarises the board's work in ensuring compliance with regulations and promoting effective governance and administration of the pension fund.

According to the draft report, the board assisted the Administering Authority, ensuring compliance with the Public Service Pensions Act, the LGPS Advisory Board, the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA), and The Pensions Regulator. The report stated that the board had no concerns about the Leicestershire Pension Fund or its administration, though it would continue to monitor the welfare of the pension officers in administering the McCloud remedy¹, and any future legislative requirements on the Fund.

The draft report also included highlights of the board's activities, including:

• Regular updates on the implementation of the McCloud remedy.
• A summary of Fund Officers' initial view of compliance in respect of The Pension Regulator's General Code of Practice.
• Reviews of the risk register.
• Scrutiny of the Pension Fund Business Plan and Budget 2025/26.
• Consideration of the Pension Fund Annual Report and Accounts 2023/24.
• A review of the funding risk and 2025 valuation planning.
• Monitoring of developments across the Local Government Pension Scheme following the 2024 general election and the government's 'Fit for the Future' consultation.

Pension Fund Administration Report

The board was scheduled to discuss the Pension Fund Administration Report for April to June 2025, which provided information on administrative actions and the performance of the Pensions Section against its performance indicators.

The report included performance indicators for the Pensions Section, covering how quickly processes are carried out and customer feedback. It also noted that officers are reviewing how performance is measured and reported, including the total time from retirement to payment.

The report detailed workloads in various areas, such as preserved benefits, aggregations, and transfers, with a RAG rating² to highlight areas needing attention. Incoming transfers remained high, partly due to inexperienced staff training and a focus on year-end work.

The report also covered governance, including complaints dealt with through the Internal Dispute Resolution Procedure (IDRP), and the breaches log. There were no material breaches reported in the quarter.

Two new internal audit reports were received during the quarter:

• National Fraud Initiative (NFI) 2024-2025 Exercise: The audit found a sound framework of controls in place. It recommended ensuring independence in NFI checking and continuing to recover overpayments.
• Code of Practice: The audit gave substantial assurance that the requirements of the new Code of Practice had been adequately addressed.

The report provided updates on the Fund's new websites, with training for officers to post content scheduled for August 2025. It also included updates on the McCloud remedy and the Pensions Dashboards Programme (PDP). As part of preparations for the PDP, officers have begun work on identifying deferred members who no longer reside at the address recorded on their pension record.

The report also noted that the Local Pension Committee received an update on the upcoming review for the Fund's Net Zero Climate Strategy and a proposed timeline for consideration on 27 June 2025.

The report detailed issues that are now expected to result in statements being delayed for a small number of members, 124 in total, and the reasons why.

The Pensions Manager shared the Fund's draft consultation reply with senior officers and the chair of the Leicestershire Local Pension Board prior to submission. Comments received have been incorporated. The final reply was provided to MHCLG on 5 August 2025. A copy of the Fund's reply is included as Appendix B.

The report also provided an update on employer risk, listing outstanding cases in risk order.

The report recommended that the board considers the report and raises any areas of concern with the Local Pension Committee, and considers and comments regarding how to approach the updating of records where deferred members have been traced to a new address.

Pension Fund Annual Report and Accounts 2024/25

The board was asked to comment on the Pension Fund Annual Report and Accounts 2024/25.

The report noted that there is a statutory requirement for the Annual Report and Accounts to be available on or before 1 December following the end of a scheme year, and that the accounts are in the process of being audited.

The Fund follows revised guidance published in May 2024 by the Scheme Advisory Board, Chartered Institute of Public Finances and Accountancy and the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.

The report stated that the Fund was unable to name the benchmarks used under the terms of the current contract with the Fund's performance information provider and the underlying benchmark providers, and that Table B on page 90 for 'casework key performance indicators' has not yet been completed.

The report also noted that the County Council also invests funds with four managers with whom the Leicestershire County Council Pension Fund invests, namely Partners Group, JP Morgan, DTZ investors and Christofferson Robb and Company (CRC).

The report recommended that the Local Pension Board note the report.

Risk Management and Internal Controls

The board was scheduled to be informed of any changes relating to the risk management and internal controls of the Pension Fund, as stipulated in the Pension Regulator's Code of Practice.

The report noted that the latest version of the Fund's risk register was approved by the Local Pension Committee on 27 June 2025, and that officers meet quarterly to discuss the risk register.

The report detailed revisions to existing risks since the previously approved risk register, including:

• Risk 2: Market Return are acceptable, but the performance achieved by the Fund is below reasonable expectations.
• Risk 8: Employer and employee contributions are not paid accurately and on time.
• Risk 9: If the Funds In House AVC provider (The Prudential) does not meet its service delivery requirements the Pension Fund is late in making payment of benefits to scheme members
• Risk 10: Sub-funds of individual employers are not monitored to ensure that there is the correct balance between risks to the Fund and fair treatment of the employer
• Risk 12: If the Pensions database system is subjected to a cyber-attack, resulting in the theft of personal data or a period of unavailability, then there may be a breach of the statutory obligations.
• Risk 14: If transfer out checks are not completed fully there may be bad advice challenges against the Fund.
• Risk 18: Proposed changes to LGPS regulations and guidance requires changes to the Fund's investment, pooling and governance processes.

The report recommended that the Local Pension Board note the report.