News and press releases

In a major speech on 14 November 2024, Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced a pension investment review into the LGPS (Local Government Pension Scheme), covering the areas of pooling, UK investment and good governance. The focus of the review is to look at, in the government's words, 'how to unlock the investment potential of the scheme and put it on the strongest possible footing for the future’.

For many years, the government has been paying increasing attention to how the LGPS invests and what it invests in. Investment ‘pools’ were set up starting in 2016 to reduce investment related costs, with regional investment in UK infrastructure gradually becoming more prominent. Your pension fund is part of one of these investment pools. The government’s review continues this process, looking at combining investments into even larger pools, and suggesting a deadline for funds to transition their remaining assets into pools.

Will anything change for LGPS members or their pensions?

The short answer is no. This pension review only intends to look at the way pension funds invest their money and what they invest it in. It’s not looking at the terms of the pension scheme or the day-to-day running of the scheme by local pension funds for their members.

The LGPS remains a ‘defined benefit’ pension scheme in which your benefits are set out in law and therefore fully protected from the impact of investments and stock market changes. The value and security of your pension is not connected to investment returns.

A new study by NatWest Group highlights the fastest growing scams of 2024 that people should be on their guard about.

Fastest growing scams of 2024 revealed | NatWest Group

According to NatWest, scams involving fake parcel delivery texts, social media marketplace scams and AI voice cloning increased the most during the last year with £570 million reported stolen by scammers in the first half of 2024. 

Other scams highlighted include

• Tax rebate scams
• Refund scams, and 
• Get rich quick investment scams.

Follow the link above to read the NatWest study and get some advice about how to keep yourself safe from the scammers.

2024's headline increase is 6.7%and is based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) on 30 September last year.

The government’s Pensions Increase (Review) order tells public-sector pension schemes like ours how much we should increase pensions by.

The increase is due from 8 April 2024. You can read more about the increase and how it affects your pension below:

• Local Government members
• Firefighter members

From the 2023/24 tax year the standard annual allowance amount for most members is £60,000.

Also in 2023 the lifetime allowance was abolished and has now been replaced by the lump sum allowance from April 2024.

You can read more about these rules below:

• Local Government members
• Firefighter members

Pension scams can be hard to spot. Scammers can be articulate and financially knowledgeable, with credible websites, testimonials and materials that are hard to distinguish from the real thing.

Scammers design attractive offers to persuade you to transfer your pension pot to them (or to release funds from it). It is often then invested in unusual and high-risk investments like overseas property, renewable energy bonds, forestry, storage units, or simply stolen outright.

You can read more about how to protect yourself from scams, and where you can report them if you spot one below:

• Local government members
• Firefighter members