The Newham Pensions Board met on 25 November 2025, receiving updates on pension administration, legislative changes, and fund performance. The board reviewed and noted the annual report, business plan, and training plan, and discussed compliance with the Pensions Regulator's code of practice. Members also reviewed the latest performance data from the London Pensions Partnership Authority (LPPA).

Pensions Administration and Legislative Updates

Jacqueline Andress, Pensions Projects and Contracts Manager, provided an update on several key areas:

• McCloud Age Discrimination Case: The LPPA is still working through calculations to address age discrimination, including transfers previously paid out. Full functionality for all calculation types is still under development due to complexity. The deadline for completion has been extended to 31 August 2026.
• Exit Cap: There is still no indication of whether a cap on payments to members leaving local government employment will be reintroduced.
• Pensions Dashboard: The deadline for public sector schemes to connect to the government's pensions dashboard¹ was 31 October 2025. LPPA's software developers, Civica, discovered an issue preventing connection by the deadline, but this was not considered a breach by the Pensions Regulator. The error is expected to be fixed soon, with no impact on the public as access is not expected until the first half of 2027.
• Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) Regulations Consultations: A first consultation closed on 7 August, and the board is awaiting responses from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG). A second consultation launched on 13 October, covering increasing the minimum pension age to 57, reopening the pension scheme to elected mayors and councillors from 1 April 2026, and allowing employers to move pension funds to centralise admissions.
• Oasis Academy Trust Centralisation: The Oasis Academy Trust is being allowed to centralise all its academies into one fund, which would result in Newham losing one Oasis Academy to a different fund.
• Valuation: The fund's valuation has concluded positively, with draft contribution rates expected to be sent to employers next month.
• Risk Register: There were no major changes to report, but the admissions policy had been updated to mitigate risk.

During discussion, board members raised concerns about the LPPA's recurring technical issues with McCloud functionality and the pensions dashboard. It was explained that the LPPA uses Civica's system, and many other funds using the same system or different systems have also experienced McCloud delays due to tight timelines and complexity. Officers also confirmed that the financial implications were minimal, and although there was the possibility of a small amount of additional interest on late payments, no affected members had been identified yet. Members requested officers urge the LPPA to prioritise resolving these issues and requested updates on the progress.

The board noted the administration updates within the Pension Administration and Legislative Update.

Pension Fund Annual Report

Rakesh Rajan, Pensions Manager, presented the Draft Pension Fund Annual Report 24-25, highlighting that despite volatile markets, the fund closed at £1.36 billion, up £39 million from the previous year and its highest ever recorded. Investment returns were driven by UK/US elections, tariffs, and inflation concerns. The fund was the 10th highest performer in London, with an overall return of 3.9% for the year.

Regarding the Fit for Future consultation² and pooling, there were significant reforms to LGPS investment management required, moving 100% of the assets into a pool by 31 March 2026. The London CIV, one of the now six UK pools, received a green flag and was coordinating 32 funds, with Buckinghamshire joining soon, making it 33 funds. Currently, 63% of Newham's assets were pooled into the London CIV.

In terms of equities management and protection strategies, the fund had reviewed its equity holdings, appointing a new Active Global Value Manager (Wellington fund) within the London CIV. The protection strategy involved hedge fund exposure volatility. Key priorities for the outlook for 2025-26 included asset pooling within the London CIV and preparing for the Pensions Bill, which was expected to become law in 2027. The triennial valuation was finalised, with lower contribution rates expected for employers from April due to the fund's strong performance. Sustainable investment monitoring (ESG policy) would undergo changes as the fund integrated with London CIV's policies.

During discussion, concerns were raised about the underperformance of actively managed funds within the London CIV compared to un-pooled assets and index trackers. Officers explained that the fund reduced its holding in one active manager (Long View) and appointed another (Wellington) to complement the strategy and reduce risk. Private markets (private equity and debt) had performed remarkably well and were key for income generation in a mature fund. The strategic asset allocation was being reviewed and tweaked before full transition to the London CIV. CBRE remained the preferred partner for property fund management, with holdings primarily in global property funds.

The board noted the report. Training for all board and committee members on accounts and the annual report were being planned.

Board Annual Report and Business Plan

James Cocks, Assistant Director of Transactional People Services, OS Exchequer & Transactional Services, presented the Board Annual Report and Business Plan. The final version of the Pension Board Annual Report and the Business Plan would be incorporated into the fund's annual report. Updates related to McCloud and the pensions dashboard were covered under adherence to regulations in the Business Plan. It was explained that specificity about governance activities, particularly regarding the code of practice gap analysis, should be included in the Business Plan.

The board noted the contents of the report.

TPR Code of Practice Compliance

Jacqueline Andress, Pensions Projects and Contracts Manager, presented the Code of Practise Compliance report, outlining the plan for the Newham Pension Fund to become fully compliant with all aspects of the Pensions Regulator's³ new code of practice that were now relevant to the Local Government Pension Scheme.

An actuary, Barnett Waddingham, conducted a review of the fund's compliance, finding Newham mostly compliant in relevant areas. A plan has been developed to achieve full compliance, identifying noncompliant points, required details, and documents to be created or updated. Key documents needing updates included:

• The Governance Compliance Statement (most amendments needed, deadline was the end of January 2026).
• A new Training Policy and Plan for both the Pension Board and Committee (drafted by end of calendar year).
• Minor changes to the Pensions Administration Strategy.
• A specific Business Continuity Plan for Pensions (the council's plan was not specific enough).

Amended or created documents would be brought to the board for review and agreement after each deadline. The board's business plan and risk register would be reviewed to incorporate these updates, with focus on the Business Continuity Plan.

The board noted the report and specifically the deadlines within the report.

Pension Committee Update

Jacqueline Andress, Pensions Projects and Contracts Manager, presented a Report from latest Pensions Committee Meeting providing feedback from the last Pensions Committee meeting held on 8 October 2025. Main subjects discussed included: the Pensions Administration Update, (including information around the McCloud and the Pensions Dashboard delays), Pension Administration Service Budget (agreed with the proviso to monitor LPPA performance and challenge cost increases), Admissions policy (agreed and published), Freedom of Information (FOI) requests regarding fund investments, the Pension Fund Business Plan and the Investment strategy implementation updates.

During the meeting, the committee had expressed concerns about the delays and lack of detail/accountability regarding the pensions dashboard and McCloud, and officers were seeking further explanations from LPPA, which would be shared with the board and the committee. It was suggested that consideration should be given to inviting LPPA to the Pension Board meetings to discuss operational risks and mitigation strategies once issues were resolved.

The FOI requests related to fund investments in specific sectors due to global conflicts, with the fund adhering to its ESG policy and government directives. The volume of FOI requests had been a mix of seasonal spikes and general interest. It was suggested that the resource impact of responding to specific FOI requests could be added to the Risk Register.

The board noted the update.

Performance

James Grafton, Pension Administration Officer, presented the Administration Performance Update November 2025, focusing on the Quarter 2 (July-September 2025) performance overview. Membership had decreased slightly by 41. The Service Level Agreement (SLA) performance remained strong, averaging 98.6% (down slightly from 98.9% in Q1), with all cases above the 95% target. Completed cases dropped slightly by 43, help desk calls were answered within 4 minutes and had improved to 72.1% by September, with a quarterly average of 65.7%. Average wait times decreased to 3 minutes 32 seconds. Member satisfaction fluctuated; however, the quarterly average rose to 86.4% (from 80.3% in Q1), with increased survey responses. Online portal registrations grew across all categories, with 7,320 active accounts by September, and conditional data quality remained steady. Six new complaints were reported in September, with four resolved; the LPPA was still above the target of 1 complaint per 1,000 members. Two IDRP cases were reported, and no breaches occurred. Overall, there had been a definite improvement in service levels compared to a year ago.

The board noted the performance data set out in the appendices, which were summarised within the report.

Board Training Plan

Jacqueline Andress, Pensions Projects and Contracts Manager, presented the Board Training Plan report, setting out the training plan for board members to ensure that they were provided with an appropriate degree of knowledge and understanding to enable them to properly exercise their functions as a member of the Pension Board. The Pensions Regulator's Code of Practice required a full training policy and plan for board and committee members to ensure appropriate knowledge.

A board training plan has been created, covering provisions from various providers, including Barnett Waddingham (the actuary) and the LPPA. Login codes for Barnett Waddingham's online training courses had been provided to all board members. Board members were asked to complete the SIPFA knowledge and skills framework, with completion status to be reported at each board meeting. New joiners Donford Vardon and Alison Mitchell had also been provided with login details. The completion status of training would be reviewed at the next meeting.

The board noted the report and the deadlines within the report.