England and Wales' Local Government Pension Scheme: Addressing Access and Equity
The Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) in England and Wales is the subject of a consultation with various proposals aimed at enhancing fairness and access to the scheme for low-paid public service workers. Launched in May 2025, the Government's "Access and Fairness" consultation seeks to address several issues that have historically disadvantaged these workers in pension scheme access and outcomes.
One of the key areas of focus is addressing survivor pensions and death grants, which can impact pension security for members and their families. The consultation also includes measures to tackle the Gender Pension Gap within the LGPS, with the aim of ensuring more equitable pension outcomes for women, who are disproportionately represented among lower-paid public service workers.
The proposals also involve collecting data on scheme opt-outs and reasons for opting out, to understand and reduce barriers to access, especially for low-paid members. Changes to forfeiture rules are designed to resolve longstanding issues that may disproportionately impact lower-paid or vulnerable workers. Technical changes related to the McCloud remedy, which addresses age discrimination in pension protections, are also part of the consultation.
Additionally, the consultation includes miscellaneous changes such as five-year refunds, pre-2014 AVCs (Additional Voluntary Contributions), and small pot payments, all aimed at improving scheme usability and benefits accessibility for lower earners.
While the main focus of the proposals is to improve access and fairness broadly, the emphasis on gender pension gaps, survivor benefits, and opt-out data indicates a particular concern to support low-paid public service workers.
It is worth noting that while the consultation focuses on equal access to the LGPS, related legislative changes under the Pensions Scheme Bill focus on governance and fund management but do not specifically target low-paid worker access. Contribution rates and their structuring, discussed in the firefighter pension scheme in Wales, consider fairness by grade, which is relevant to low-paid workers but is a separate scheme detail.
In conclusion, the equal access proposals for the LGPS in England and Wales seek to reduce inequities by improving pension benefit structures, increasing transparency, and addressing demographic-specific gaps, all aimed at making the LGPS more inclusive and fair for low-paid public service workers. The LGPS, which provides security in old age for millions of members who have served in public service, often with low wages, is considered crucial by the government for providing security in older age for its members.
Personal-finance improvements for low-paid public service workers are addressed in the consultation, as the proposals aim to tackle longstanding issues, such as the Gender Pension Gap, survivor pensions, and death grants. The government's focus on data collection on scheme opt-outs and reasons for opting out is aimed at reducing barriers to access, particularly for these workers.
