Local Government Pension Scheme in England and Wales - Access and Fairness

The government recognises that the proposed Statutory Instrument, which can be found alongside this consultation document, would make several changes to LGPS Regulations at once. Some of these changes have been long discussed, but some are new proposals, and all would require administrators to adapt existing processes or create new ones. 

The government believes that these changes are important to improve access to and the running of the scheme, and proposes to implement most of these changes through the draft Statutory Instrument later this year.    

However, the government recognises that there is already significant pressure on LGPS administrators, particularly in the context of McCloud remedy calculations. Accordingly, the government is seeking views on the cumulative administrative burden of the proposals, and in particular if there are areas that administrators consider more complex than others that may need to be introduced later. The government will consider all responses to this consultation and consider if some of the changes would be better introduced through a staggered approach.     

The government does not propose to cover any additional cost generated by the proposals in this consultation. The government’s view is that, unless otherwise specified, the costs of implementing these proposals are costs of administration of the scheme. Therefore, they would be chargeable to the LGPS pension funds and are not in scope of the New Burdens Doctrine.