Agenda item

The purpose of this report is to update the committee on recent developments within the LGPS regulatory environment and any recent consultations issued by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) which have would have a significant impact on the Fund.

I have attached 7 appendices to the main report.

The report updated the Board on recent developments within the LGPS regulatory environment and any recent consultations issued by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) which have would have a significant impact on the Fund.  Saagar Raithatha informed the Board that early analysis indicated that around 1.2 million members across LGPS, equivalent to roughly a quarter of all members, may be affected. Officers were working together with the Fund’s actuary, Hymans Robertson and the Fund’s admin provider LPP to further work through the details of the consultation before preparing a response.

The closing date of this consultation will be on 8 October 2020. Comments from any member of the Board regarding the consultation should be sent to Ravinder Jassar (Head of Finance) ahead of the closing date.

The other update involved the plans to cap exit payments in the public sector of £95,000. On 10 April 2019, HM Treasury (HMT) launched a consultation on draft regulations, guidance and directions to implement the cap. The consultation closed on 3 July 2019 and received around 600 responses.  Despite the concerns, there has been no proposal to change the level of the cap at this stage.

In response to Members’ questions, officers stated that they were awaiting details of how the cap would be implemented and whilst the Government had not made the impact clear, there would be no impact on Brent retirees and beneficiaries.