Pension professionals warn of ‘disproportionate burden’ from extending LGPS benefits to councillors
Author: LAPF Investments | Published: December 9, 2025
The Society of Pensions Professionals (SPP) has raised concerns about the “disproportionate administrative burden” caused by the extension of LGPS benefits to local councillors.
It comes as part of the trade body’s response to the government’s consultation on access fairness within the LGPS in England and Wales. It focuses on four key policy areas, including the application of new Fair Deal protections to outsourced workers, and bringing pension fund access to mayors and councillors in the UK.
Reflecting on the latter, SPP said it supports extending access to mayors but that there are “a range of views” among pension professionals on whether councillors should be granted access to the scheme.
This mainly came down to a concern that it could involve a “disproportionate administrative burden” for a relatively low financial benefit for councillors.
Outside this and looking at the new Fair Deal proposals for outsourced workers, it says these could “potentially increase the complexity and administrative burden for administering authorities when a service provider joins the LGPS.”
As a way around this issue, the SPP said the proposed outcome can already be achieved by means of a “pass-through” arrangement which is commonly adopted, and as such question the value of imposing further administrative obligations at such a busy time for the LGPS.
Commenting on its response, the SPP’s public sector committee chair Kirsty McLean said: “Improving access and fairness of the LGPS are sentiments with which the SPP agrees but as is often the case, the devil here is really in the detail.
“Whilst it makes sense to extend LGPS access to mayors, there are concerns about extending access to local councillors given the low level of benefits involved, the complexity of administering this and the fact it creates inequity between councillors in England and Wales.
“We also support the important balance of needing administering authority agreement to proposed consolidation as a means to curtail unjustified ‘contribution rate shopping’ by academies and have highlighted to policymakers the administrative burdens that would be created by the proposed New Fair Deal proposals, the results of which could largely be achieved through existing “pass-through” arrangements.
“More generally, the SPP is aware of the already heavy workload of LGPS administrators and is concerned that these developments (and others recently consulted on) should be introduced in a manageable timeframe given significant capacity constraints in the sector.”
