• New LGPS regulations will be formally introduced in England and Wales from 23 September to (i) review employer contributions outside formal valuations and (ii) manage employer cessation arrangements.
• While many funds are already practising similar employer management, key actions will be to create processes and update fund policies and the Funding Strategy Statement to allow for the new powers

With the ink only about dry on the funding policy changes from exit credits, on 26 August MHCLG published another partial response to the same May 2019 consultation, “Changes to the local valuation cycle and management of employer risk”. The response notes the need for new regulations to allow administering authorities and employers to be able to manage and mitigate risks arising from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Following the response being published, the new regulations have quickly been made and are due to come into force from 23 September 2020 via the snappily named Local Government Pension Scheme (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2020.

The new regulations focus on three key areas:

1. Review of employer contributions
2. Spreading exit payments
3. Deferred Debt Agreements

We look at each of these in our sixty second summary.

Download the full summary

Next steps

Given the new regulations are to come into force later this month and employers will be keen to see progress, we would suggest that each administering authority quickly discusses the changes and required actions with its Fund Actuary.