Outcome of LGPS Consultation on Access and fairness published

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (“MHCLG”) published on 2 February 2026 the government’s response to the “Access and fairness” consultation (the “Consultation”).

The Consultation ran from 15 May 2025 to 7 August 2025 and, as we highlighted previously, it sought to address perceived inequalities in the LGPS’ treatment of members and their dependants, particularly in relation to survivor benefits and death grants. It also covered proposed amendments to LGPS forfeiture provisions and several ancillary points. 

Response 

The response to the Consultation confirms that: 

• the government will introduce the changes through one or more statutory instruments 

• support in relation to the changes will be provided by detailed guidance which the government will develop with bodies such as the LGPS Scheme Advisory Board, the Local Government Association, the Government Actuary’s Department, and the Local Government Pension Committee

• the implementation of the changes will be phased (rather than all the changes being introduced at once)

Phasing of implementation

In its response, the government acknowledged the concerns which had been raised about the administrative impact of the changes proposed in relation to access and fairness and therefore confirmed that it will adopt a phased approach to their introduction. 

Priority will be given to the changes where the government believes there is existing discrimination.  The first phase will therefore focus on earlier implementation of the changes related to: 

• survivor benefits and death grants

• gender pension gap (unpaid absences)

• gender pension gap reporting (reduced version for 2025)

• McCloud remedy

• lifetime Allowance

• including Combined County Authorities as Scheme Employers

for the start of the 2026/2027 scheme year.

The second phase later in 2026 will then focus the implementation of the changes in relation to: 

• gender pension gap reporting (fuller version ahead of 2028)

• opt-out reporting

• forfeiture

• all other regulation changes

Guidance 

The response also acknowledges the requests from respondents for clarity on calculation methods, evidence requirements, tax treatment, data protection, and the handling of complex or historic cases in relation to the proposed changes.  The government has therefore committed to issuing scheme guidance to support the final Statutory Instruments and to working with sector bodies to refine drafting and address technical issues before regulations are laid. 

The government has also stated that in relation to forfeiture, it intends to bring forward further amendments to close the identified loophole where members could take actions to avoid or limit the effect of a forfeiture direction. 

Comment

Given the ongoing current valuation process and the other myriad of changes which are being introduced, such as those in relation to LGPS Pooling, or being consulted on, such as those on access and protections, the phasing of the changes together with the commitment to provide guidance will no doubt be welcomed by administering authorities and scheme employers alike.  

It will also be interesting to see whether a similar phased approach will be adopted to the implementation of the proposals in the separate scheme improvements (access and protections) consultation (which closed on 22 December 2025) when the government publishes its response to this in due course. 

This article was written by Alec Bennett