06 December 2024
5 min
In our last edition of 2024, we look back at the year’s themes, alongside our usual round-up of current hot topics, such as the Mansion House consultation and the DfE guarantee for FE bodies. Current Issues will return in February but look out for our LGPS 2025 priorities next month.
We’ll predict the big ticket items across funding, administration, governance and investments that could affect funds in the coming months. Until then, we wish you and your family a very happy Christmas and New Year.
In this month's edition of Current Issues in the LGPS, some highlights include:
2024 has been particularly busy for those involved in running the LGPS. This has been reflected across our communications, with a whopping seven 60-second summaries, 26 briefing notes or similar publications, and 12 webinars being run over the last 11 months. Our festive lookback provides a quick reminder of the key themes in 2024. And, if you need a challenge, we invite you to complete the LGPS wordsearch in under 5 minutes!
Watch our webinar on-demand where our multi-discipline panel share their thoughts and key takeaways from Chancellor Rachel Reeves' first Budget, delivered on 30 October, and their immediate (within 12 hours!) thoughts on the Mansion House speech. The webinar also covered two items in the Budget of particular interest to LGPS funds – the consultation to bring unused pension benefits and death grants into scope for inheritance tax purposes, and the switch in the measure of public debt for its fiscal targets, which now includes the LGPS. Please click here and here respectively for further details.
The UK Government, via the Department of Education (DfE), is now providing a LGPS guarantee to certain further education (FE) bodies in England. It doesn’t extend to universities. The guarantee is structured in a similar way to the existing one that covers academy trusts and is subject to an annual limit. The wording encourages FE bodies to engage with LGPS funds about how the guarantee will affect their funding strategies, with the DfE expecting the lowest risk employer funding strategies to apply, on a par with academies and local authorities. Some funds are likely to be contacted by affected employers to seek ‘inter-valuation’ contribution rate reviews ahead of the 2025 valuation. That aside, and given the change in the covenant of these employers, funds themselves may want to be on the front foot and initiate a review of rates payable in 2025/26. Please agree a plan with your Fund Actuary.
If you have any questions, or would like to discuss anything further, please get in touch.
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