Investment Reform - Questions & Answers for LGPS members
Printer-friendly versionIn the 2015 Summer Budget it was announced that the Government will work with Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) administering authorities to reform how LGPS investments are managed.
The LGPS is one of the largest public sector pension schemes in the UK. It is a nationwide pension scheme for people working in local government or working for other types of employer participating in the Scheme.
In England and Wales the LGPS is currently organised into ninety one funds, each with an administering authority responsible for the management of its assets and liabilities and the administration and payment of pensions to its local members.
The Government wants the ninety one funds to pool their assets into approximately six investment pools, in an effort to drive down investment costs and enable funds to develop the capacity and capability to become world leaders in infrastructure investment and help drive growth in the UK economy.
In compliance with 2015 Government guidance requiring administering authorities to collaborate to establish and invest through asset pools, each with at least £25bn of Scheme assets, the Fund is a member of Northern LGPS.
The following questions and answers aim to help you understand these changes:
Why is this happening?
Across the LGPS in England and Wales the scheme holds £217bn of assets (2014/15 figure). These assets are currently held in ninety one local pension funds and are used to pay the pensions of former members of the Scheme and their dependants. The LGPS is one of the largest funded pension schemes in Europe.
The Government commissioned research which indicates that significant savings can be delivered by the creation of around six investment pools, each with assets of at least £25bn. Each LGPS administering authority will be obliged to join, or help create, an investment pool with other LGPS administering authorities.
Savings will be achieved through economies of scale and increased bargaining power; investment costs will be reduced along with other costs for all types of investment used in the pool.
The Government would also like the LGPS to have the capacity and capability to be able to invest in infrastructure e.g. railway, road or other transport facilities or housing supply. Currently only a very small proportion of LGPS assets are invested in infrastructure, it is hoped that the creation of investment pools will make it easier for LGPS funds to invest in infrastructure due to their increased scale.
Will the changes affect the amount of pension I receive?
No, the LGPS is a defined benefit scheme which means that your pension benefits are based on your salary and how long you have been a member of the LGPS. The pension benefits you receive are not linked to investment returns.
To find out how your pension is calculated here.
Will the amount of pension contributions I pay change?
No, as a member of the LGPS the rate of contributions you pay is based on how much you are paid.
You can find out how much the LGPS costs here.
Does this change who administers my pension benefits?
No, the Government is only requiring LGPS administering authorities to pool the investment of their assets. There is no requirement for any change to the administration of the LGPS i.e. who calculates and pays your pension.
Who is responsible for deciding how a fund invests its assets and will this change?
Each LGPS administering authority decides how the assets for that fund are to be invested in line with its agreed investment strategy. This will not change when assets are invested via the new investment pools from April 2018.
Where can I find out more information?
On 21 July 2016 Merseyside Pension Fund announced it had reached agrerement with two other LGPS funds to form a Collective Asset Pool, called the 'Northern Pool' which meets the criteria set out by the Government.
Further information about investment reform is also available on the LGPS Scheme Advisory Board website here.