Focus February 2025
A downloadable version of this newsletter is available below.
Staffordshire County Council is legally responsible for the Staffordshire Pension Fund. Managing the Fund's affairs effectively is one of their main aims and under the County Council’s constitution, the Pensions Committee is the body delegated to undertake that task.
As well as nine elected council members, the Pensions Committee has six co-opted members. The co-opted members cannot vote at meetings but play the valuable role of representing, and being able to voice, the views from organisations that have employees who are members of the Fund.
As a co-opted member of the Pensions Committee, you would be expected to attend meetings, which are held on a quarterly basis, and potentially deal with queries received from employers within the sector you represent. During the year training sessions are also arranged for Committee members, which you would be expected to attend.
We are currently looking for three representatives from our:
- Scheduled bodies (Councils, Police & Fire, Colleges, Universities and Academies) x 2 vacancies
- Designating and Admission bodies (Town & Parish Councils, Housing Associations, Contractors and Charities) x 1 vacancy.
If you feel you would be interested in taking up one of these roles, please e-mail Staffordshire Pension Fund’s Governance and Communication Manager: martin.elliot@staffordshire.gov.uk
The closing date for registering your interest is Monday, 3 March 2025.
Following a recent resignation, the LPB has a vacancy for a representative from one of our Scheme employers.
The role of the LPB is to assist the Scheme manager (Staffordshire County Council) to secure compliance with the LGPS regulations and to help secure the effective governance and administration of the LGPS, for the Staffordshire Pension Fund and its members.
As a member of the LPB, you would be asked to serve for a 4-year term of office and be expected to attend meetings, which are held on a quarterly basis. To help and support LPB representatives in their role, we will provide full training which includes access to online portals as well as in person training sessions, at least twice a year.
If you feel you would be interested in taking up this position, or would simply like further information about the role, then please e-mail Martin Elliot, Governance and Communication Manager, with an expression of your interest. Email: martin.elliot@staffordshire.gov.uk
Throughout 2025, the Local Government Association (LGA) will be holding Employer Role training workshops.
The workshops are aimed primarily at staff working for Scheme employers who have operational responsibilities under the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS). Delegates do not need a thorough working knowledge of the LGPS, but some experience of the scheme and its provisions would be useful.
You can find out more about the course content, available dates and how to book, please visit https://lgpsregs.org/employer-resources/other-employer-training.php
Note: Following last year’s Scheme employer training day, Staffordshire Pension Fund will also be providing further events for Scheme employers in 2025. We are yet to finalise dates and the format for the sessions i.e. whether to be held in-person or online. However, further information will be provided in future editions of the Employer Focus Newsletter.
We would be grateful if you could continue to circulate this Newsletter to appropriate staff in your organisation for example, Human Resources, Payroll and Finance Department or alternatively provide us with their email address, so we can add them to our distribution list.
If you require any further information or clarification, please do not hesitate to email the Fund at pensions.comms@staffordshire.gov.uk