LGPS to report gender pension gaps in 2025 fund valuations

The Government Actuary's Department has published the first guidance for gender pension gap reporting in the Local Government Pension Scheme, and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government requires fund-wide gaps to be reported in 2025 actuarial valuations with employer-type breakdowns.

The Government Actuary's Department (GAD) has issued the first coordinated guidance for reporting gender pension gaps in the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS). The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) published the guidance alongside its access and fairness consultation response. GAD's earlier analysis showed substantial gender gaps in accrued pensions and helped shape the new reporting requirements. The guidance is designed to use data already held by funds so reporting can begin within the current valuation cycle. Key details: - GAD's 2023 analysis found women's average accrued pension was 35% lower than men's in the post-2014 scheme and 45% lower in the pre-2014 scheme. - Around three-quarters of the LGPS's nearly 6.9 million members are women, a workforce makeup cited as a factor behind the focus on reporting. - Administering authorities are required to report fund-wide gender pension gaps in their 2025 actuarial valuations, with a breakdown by employer type. - The initial framework concentrates on accrued pensions for active and pensioner members and uses existing employer categorisations as a pragmatic first step. - GAD says administering authorities can begin reporting from March 2026 and that updated guidance will follow ahead of future valuations. Summary: The new guidance aims to create consistent measurement of gender pension gaps across LGPS funds and to make those gaps visible in valuation reports. GAD will continue to work with MHCLG and stakeholders to monitor reported results and to issue updated guidance for later valuations.