08 November 2024
5 min
Partner and Actuary
The talk of the LGPS town remains fixed on the Government’s Pensions Investment Review.
With an ominous silence on any news about the subject in the Autumn Budget, attention turns to the Chancellor’s Mansion House speech on 14 November. Please join our webinar on 15 November to hear the initial reactions!
In this month's edition of Current Issues in the LGPS, some highlights include:
Despite the frenzied speculation, the Budget was relatively light on direct pension related matters. Many in the LGPS community were awaiting news from the Pension Investment Review with bated breath but ended up breathing a sigh of relief on 30 October. It now appears we will need to wait for more details on the government’s plans on pooling, consolidation and UK investment from the initial report (which we understand will be released this month, perhaps on the back of the Chancellor’s Mansion House speech on 14 November). We’ve produced two LGPS-specific briefing notes on the Budget – one about bringing unused pension benefits and death grants into scope for inheritance tax purposes, and the other about the switch in the measure of public debt for the Government’s fiscal targets, which now includes the LGPS.
After reading the briefing notes above, you’ll be keen to join us on Friday 15 November to hear some immediate thoughts from the Chancellor’s Mansion House speech and delve into the key LGPS takeaways from the Budget. Please register here. If you're unable to join us live, sign up anyway and you'll be able to watch the webinar on-demand at a time convenient to you.
On 16 October the ONS announced headline CPI inflation for the year to September 2024 as 1.7%, which is likely to apply to the Pension Increase Order for 2025. Following the post-pandemic high levels of inflation, this is a return to levels closer to the Bank of England target. However, the inflationary outlook remains uncertain – with plausible outlooks ranging from lower levels of inflation driven by weak demand to a structurally higher inflationary outlook. With the potential for contribution reductions at the 2025 valuations in England and Wales, the cashflow position of your fund remains an area for attention.
On 9 October we held the second instalment of our 2025 valuation webinar series which was on all things employer engagement. A couple of our LGPS actuaries, Steven Scott and Tom Hoare, discussed the value of engaging with your employers early, key funding strategy considerations for different employer groups, and what the current economic environment means for employer risk. If you missed this event, you can catch it on-demand here.
A triennial valuation is essentially a big risk management exercise. Join us on Wednesday 27 November for the third instalment in our 2025 LGPS valuation webinar series. Laura McInroy will be joined by Greer Flanagan and Reece Notman for a discussion on climate and longevity risks in the context of LGPS funding valuations. During this session, we’ll focus on the evolving landscape of climate & longevity risks, and how to factor these into your funding strategy. Please register here. If you're unable to join us live, sign up anyway and watch the webinar on-demand at a later date.
If you have any questions, or would like to discuss anything further, please get in touch.
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