Latest news

In the latest step towards achieving our net zero goals, we’ve committed £50 million to a new renewables fund. The fund has been created specifically for a consortium of LGPS funds belonging to the Brunel Pension Partnership.

We've worked with our asset manager to move over £700 million of equity investments into an innovative, Paris-aligned funding solution.

The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) has published a member factsheet - The McCloud judgment and your LGPS pension - that summarises the McCloud judgment and changes the Government are making to the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS).

On 9 March 2023, the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) laid the LGPS (Amendment) Regulations 2023 (‘the regulations’). The regulations move the annual revaluation date from 1 April to 6 April. The regulations are effective from 31 March 2023.

The Government is launching a new initiative which will allow users to securely view all their pension savings in one place. Savers will be able to choose from a range of Pensions Dashboards and, after verifying their identity, users will be able to trigger a secure digital search across virtually the entire pensions industry. A summary of the pensions found will be displayed back to the user on their smart phone, tablet, or desktop browser.

The SCAPE discount rate is used to set the employer contribution rates in the unfunded public sector pension schemes and to determine the actuarial factors across all public sector schemes. The discount rate was reduced on 30 March 2023 to the consumer price index (CPI) plus 1.7% from CPI plus 2.4%.

The current lifetime allowance of £1,073,100 is being removed from 6th April 2023 and abolished all together from 6th April 2024. The maximum amount of tax-free lump sum that you can withdraw from a pension will remain at £268,275 (25% of the current lifetime allowance of £1,073,100) unless you have a valid (enhanced) protection in place before 6th April 2023.

Looking after our investments so we can pay all pensions in full, while working towards our net zero 2050 goal, are essential priorities for Avon Pension Fund. As we make good progress on reducing our investment portfolio’s carbon emissions, our innovative investment strategy has hit the news.

The Avon Pension Fund is pleased to publish both its latest Responsible Investment Annual Report and Taskforce on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) Report for 2022.

This year’s Responsible Investment Annual Report serves to update stakeholders on the progress we have made against our climate objectives. This report offers insight into the structural challenges climate-aware investors face and provides details of the Fund’s focus over the coming year as we seek to deliver on our financial and environmental, social and governance (ESG) obligations.

To coincide with COP27’s Finance Day, the Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change (IIGCC) published their inaugural Paris Aligned Asset Owners (PAAO) progress report. The report, which includes 29 case studies, shows how asset owners are developing a range of strategies and approaches to fulfil the criteria set by the PAAO 10-point commitment (which is set out in the report).