The Pension Board of Lewisham Council is scheduled to meet on Monday, 16 March 2026. The meeting agenda includes updates on the administration of the pension fund, a review of the work programme, and reports on investment performance.

General Update - Part One

This section of the meeting is scheduled to provide the Board with updates on several general matters that have arisen since the last meeting. The report details progress on various administration projects, including the completion of the Dashboard ISP, ongoing work with the Data Cleansing Tool, and the finalisation of the Data Improvement Plan. The transfer of the Lewisham Pension Fund website to a new hosting solution provided by Heywood is also noted as complete.

A significant development is the launch of the new pensions portal, Engage - New Members Self-Service (MSS), which went live on 17 February 2026. This portal allows members to view and update personal details, manage death grant nominations, and send queries to the Lewisham Pensions Team. Active members can also view membership and financial details, run pension estimates, and access their annual benefit statements. Deferred members can view their deferred benefit details and financial information.

Work on the McCloud¹ case has resumed, with the team focusing on pensioners and identifying those in scope. Reports have been run to narrow down errors, and the team is investigating 85 identified errors. Additionally, 26 pensioners require confirmation of their service history. A meeting with actuaries has been held to discuss employer results, and all employers have been informed of their new contribution rates and the draft Financial Strategy Statement (FSS). The report also notes that all vacant posts have been advertised and applications are being processed. Planning for the end-of-year accounting and processing, including pensions increase, care revaluation, audit, and end-of-year accounts, will commence shortly.

Investment Monitoring Report Q4 December 2025

This report is scheduled to allow Pension Investment Committee (PIC) members to review and compare the pension investments' quarterly performance against benchmark forecasts. The report will assess each fund manager's performance to identify any issues, and members will have the opportunity to question the investment consultants, Hymans Robertson. The PIC meeting on 18 December 2025 was scheduled to review Hymans' investment performance for the quarter ended 30 September 2025.

Work Programme

The meeting will review the Work Programme as of March 2026. This includes a schedule of operational and strategic items to be addressed in upcoming quarters. Key items on the programme include updates on the Pension Fund Accounts, the Pension Fund Annual Report, and the monitoring of investment performance. The programme also outlines updates on LGPS Pooling, the review of the Board's Terms of Reference and Membership, the Annual Business Plan, and updates on the Pensions Regulator's (TPR)² General Code of Practice.

General Report - Part Two

This report, which will be considered in a closed session, is scheduled to cover enhanced governance requirements for both Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS)³ funds and pools. By 1 October 2026, Administering Authorities must appoint a senior LGPS Officer, who cannot hold another statutory local government role, to ensure the fund is properly managed. They must also appoint an independent person as a non-voting member of the Pension Investment Committee to provide advice. The report also addresses pooling with London CIV (LCIV), noting that most funds in Lewisham have already been pooled, thus avoiding significant potential transition costs. It also mentions that Buckinghamshire Council's Pension Fund, previously part of Brunel Pension Partnership, has chosen LCIV as its new pooling partner.

Breaches Log

The Board is scheduled to receive an update on the breaches log since the last report. The report indicates that there are no breaches to report.

Rolling Action Log

This item on the agenda is to note updates on actions since the last report. The Rolling Actions Log as at March 2026 shows that the Data Improvement Plan action is completed. Updates on LGPS Reform and Pooling are provided at each meeting until 2026. The review of a formal training plan for 2026/27 is scheduled for June 2026. The action for the Director of Finance to share the results of the Triennial Valuation report with Pension Board members was completed on 17 December 2025, with a toolkit and training session provided.

Future Meeting Dates

The Board is scheduled to note the dates of future Pension Board meetings, which will be published at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Council on Wednesday, 20 May 2026.