The Wiltshire Pension Fund Committee was scheduled to discuss the triennial valuation results and the accompanying funding strategy statement, alongside updates on the fund's headlines and monitoring. The committee was also set to review the outcomes of the Access and Protections consultation.

Triennial Valuation Results and Funding Strategy Statement

The committee was scheduled to receive a presentation from the Scheme Actuary, Barnett Waddingham, on the results of the 2025 Triennial Valuation. This valuation assesses the financial health of the Wiltshire Pension Fund and its employers, determining the necessary contribution rates to ensure all future benefit payments can be met. Provisional results indicated a slight increase in the overall funding position to 106%. The report also detailed proposed changes to employer contribution rates, with 83% of employers expected to see a decrease, 7% remaining the same, and 10% experiencing an increase.

Accompanying this was a revised Funding Strategy Statement (FSS) and associated policies. The FSS outlines the objectives for managing the fund's finances, aiming for stable employer contribution rates, long-term solvency, and cost efficiency through a balanced investment strategy. Key changes to the FSS included a new structure following updated guidance, the introduction of a single academy pool, the extension of self-insurance to death-in-service benefits, and a revised approach to managing surpluses and deficits. The report noted that all stakeholders had been consulted on the draft FSS, and verbal feedback would be provided to the committee.

Headlines and Monitoring (HAM) Report

This report was intended to provide the committee with an overview of various standard issues concerning the fund. It was scheduled to cover:

• Scheme, Regulatory, Legal and Fund Update: Key events and developments across the Pension Fund, including regulatory and legal updates provided by Barnett Waddingham.
• Health Check Dashboard: A snapshot of the Fund's performance against its Business Plan objectives, measured against seven key indicators: Service Delivery KPIs, Investment performance, Funding level, Customer Service Excellence, Internal audit ratings, Cost per member, and Staff engagement. The Q3 2025 dashboard showed an improvement in the internal audit rating from Amber to Green.
• Administration KPI Update: An update on the administration team's performance against targets, including an update of the KPI Improvement Plan. The report indicated that while the team had maintained its backlog of work below 100 cases, it was not consistently hitting the target of 95% for all case types.
• Risk Register: An overview of the fund's risks as at November 2025. The report highlighted that the overall risk position had worsened, with four Very High risks identified, primarily related to service delivery and resourcing challenges.
• Key Financial Controls Highlights: A review of significant issues related to the fund's financial controls, including the completion of the 2024/25 audit and ongoing discussions regarding Service Level Agreement (SLA) charges with the Council.
• Audit Update: An update on audits conducted by SWAP, including actions arising from the Key Controls audit.
• Committee and LPB Training: Information on plans to ensure compliance with upcoming statutory requirements for knowledge and skills for committee members and senior officers.

Access and Protections - Consultation

The committee was scheduled to receive a briefing on the government's Access and Protections consultation, which closed on 22 December 2025. The consultation proposed changes across four key areas:

• Normal Minimum Pension Age (NMPA): Proposals to potentially increase the NMPA to 57 for certain members, with specific categories for those with protected pension ages.
• Mayors and Councillors: Reinstating access to the LGPS for councillors and mayors from 1 April 2026, with specific conditions regarding contributions, retirement options, and transfers. The report noted a potential annual increase in employer contributions across England of £40-45 million, with no additional government funding proposed.
• Academies and Secretary of State (SoS) Directions: Proposals to establish criteria for consolidating academy trusts into single pension funds, requiring demonstrated value for money, a pre-existing relationship, agreement from all administering authorities, and the receiving authority's capacity to administer the transfer.
• New Fair Deal: Proposals to remove the broadly comparable scheme option for outsourced workers, mandating LGPS access through a deemed employer approach. This would also aim to preserve the value of final salary pensions for transferred workers and ensure continuity of pension agreements across different contractors.

The report highlighted that if implemented, these proposals could lead to increased employer contributions and an additional administrative burden for the fund. The fund intended to respond to the consultation by its deadline.

Committee Forward Work Plan

The committee was scheduled to review its work plan for future meetings.

Date of Next Meeting

The dates for the next committee meetings were to be determined, with an investment-focused meeting planned for 26 February 2026 and an administration-focused meeting for 26 March 2023.