April 2020 round-up
Keeping the LGPS connected
04 May 2020
Over the past few weeks we have all been adjusting to the “new normal”, and indeed speculating on what the “new new normal” might look like over the coming weeks and months. These unprecedented times have, if nothing else, helped us to focus on the things which really matter.
One great strength of the Local Government Pension Scheme has always been its sense of community. This has been evident in the past by the various conferences and seminars covering a range of topics relevant to the LGPS. But just because these have been cancelled or postponed for the foreseeable future, doesn’t mean LGPS Funds should stop connecting.
We are happy to have helped keep those connections in place, and the flow of information and ideas going. Here is a quick round-up of the main events, in case you missed any or would like to revisit something:
“Keeping the LGPS connected” fortnightly webinars
These kicked off within days of the full lockdown, covering all key areas such as administration challenges, the logistics behind running Committee and Board meetings remotely, investment issues and employer contribution deferral requests.
These webinars allow attendees to hear direct from officers and post your own questions to them. They also have live audience polling, whose results give you a sense of what the LGPS as a whole is thinking: the audience of c.100 in effect represents most of the funds in the LGPS.
We have had very positive feedback and engagement on the first three of the webinars, and the fourth takes place on Wed 6th May at 10.30am – if you haven’t already, you can register for this, and put your name down to be notified for future webinars.
Please keep feeding in ideas and topics for discussion. You are also welcome to be a speaker - if this appeals to you please drop us a note.
Private sector issues where relevant
Whilst much of the private sector pension landscape will not have direct relevance to the LGPS, we have drawn your attention to aspects where there is an overlap. For instance, we pointed funds to our recent webinar aimed at possible contribution deferrals in private sector schemes, as many of the principles apply equally in the LGPS.
Helping to answer your questions on life expectancy
Our Club Vita colleagues have held webinars on 18 March and 15 April, providing fascinating COVID-19 insights in discussion with epidemiologists and other experts. They are also publishing blogs to dig deeper into the mortality statistics.
Checklists
These separately cover administration, governance, funding, and investment: they are hopefully helping you manage in the new normal across these different areas.
Updates
Finally, our monthly round-ups bring together many COVID-related topics in bite-sized chunks. We have also sent you separate notes to cover areas that require a little more depth, such as investment issues, changing requirements for Committee meetings, and funding impacts of market turbulence.
Keeping you connected and informed is one of our key aims. All Hymans Robertson staff are fully contactable by phone or e-mail as normal, and are providing all of our usual services. We are making full use of technology e.g. Skype, Microsoft Teams and Zoom as applicable.
As ever, and especially in these challenging times, do let us know if you have any suggestions or observations on these communications.
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