The Pension Board of Lewisham Council met on Tuesday, 9 December 2025, to review a range of updates and reports concerning the management and performance of the Lewisham Pension Fund. Key discussions were scheduled to cover the fund's financial performance, risk management, and ongoing reforms within the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS).

General Update - Part One

A significant portion of the meeting was dedicated to a general update on the fund's activities. This included a review of the Lewisham Pension Fund Annual Report and Accounts for 2024/25¹. The report was scheduled to detail the fund's financial position and performance, with the auditors, KPMG, expected to sign off the audit of the accounts by early December 2025. An update from the pension administration team was also planned, covering ongoing projects such as the Dashboard Integrated Service Provider (ISP), data cleansing, and the administration of Annual Benefit Statements. The McCloud² case was noted as a factor contributing to increased complexity in processing member benefits. The meeting was also set to receive an update on the Members Survey, designed to gather feedback on responsible investment policies, and the progress of the Triennial Valuation³, with initial reports from actuaries Hymans Robertson due to be presented to the Pensions Investment Committee (PIC). The Funding Strategy Statement⁴, which outlines how the fund will meet its liabilities, was also scheduled for review.

Risk Register Review

The Board was scheduled to review the updated Risk Register⁵, which categorises risks into Red, Amber/Red, Amber/Green, and Green. The report indicated a decrease in the Funding Risk⁶ due to improvements in the draft triennial valuation, which suggested the fund was over 100% funded. However, the Transition Risk⁷ was noted as having increased due to ongoing legislative changes concerning LGPS pooling. The Professional Advice Risk⁸ also saw an increase due to new requirements limiting independent advice to once per triennial period and an increased reliance on managing conflicts of interest.

Work Programme

An update on the Work Programme⁹ was scheduled, outlining operational and strategic items for upcoming meetings. Key items included updates on the Pension Fund Accounts, the Pension Fund Annual Report, LGPS reform, the data improvement plan, and the Pension Regulator's¹⁰ General Code of Practice. The Board's Terms of Reference and Membership were also scheduled for review.

Communications Policy Statement

The Board was to consider the Communications Policy Statement¹¹, which details how the Pension Fund engages with its stakeholders. The updated policy, which requires review every three years, was scheduled for presentation to the PIC. Changes discussed included updates to the timing of Annual Benefit Statements, the deletion of a paragraph on induction seminars, and modifications to how pensioner payslips are issued.

LGPS Reform and Pooling

A significant agenda item was the LGPS Reform and Pooling update. Officers and PIC members have been working with the London Collective Investment Vehicle (LCIV)¹² to prepare for the pooling of Lewisham Pension Funds by March 2026. Concerns were raised about the future management of pension funds by LCIV, particularly the complexity of overseeing numerous financial products across London authorities. The impact of pooling on the fund's illiquid assets, such as private equity, and potential transaction costs were also noted. The government's response to the 'Pensions Investment Review Final Report 2025'¹³ was also to be discussed, outlining reforms aimed at tackling fragmentation, unlocking investment potential, and strengthening the LGPS's role in local and regional investment.

Other Items

The meeting was also scheduled to cover:

• Minutes¹⁴ of the previous Pension Board meeting held on 23 September 2025.
• Declarations of Interest¹⁵, where members would declare any personal interests in agenda items.
• A Breaches Log¹⁶, with an update indicating no breaches to report since the last meeting.
• A Rolling Action Log¹⁷, detailing updates on various ongoing actions.
• A Training Log Report¹⁸, noting that an assessment would be carried out to identify training gaps for Board members.
• An Exclusion of Press and Public Notice¹⁹, indicating that certain items, including the General Report - Part Two and the Investment Monitoring Report, would be considered in private session.
• Future Meeting Dates²⁰ were to be confirmed.