Always a Pensions Angle

The day after the Budget, we’re picking through what the Chancellor said and, just as importantly, what he didn’t. With no big surprises and barely a flicker from the gilt market, was this a deliberately dull Budget designed to avoid another 2022? Nick and Tom look at why that mini-Budget still casts such a long shadow, and why some of the less glamorous measures, like the changes to business rate...

In this budget preview special, which doubles as the podcast’s first birthday, Nick and Tom speculate on what Chancellor John Healey might deliver after an unusually quiet run-up with none of last year’s kite-flying, weighing the odds of incremental pension measures such as investment incentives, a personal allowance tweak to keep the state pension tax-free, and a terminal illness review. They als...

Nick returns from his honeymoon (and an unplanned Sky Sports cameo) as Tom and Nick report back from the Pensions UK annual conference in Liverpool, where pensions minister Torsten Bell framed the proposed triple lock changes as part of a wider push to restore trust in the system. Also on the agenda: Bell’s relaxed response to fears of “herding” in value for money, what Australia’s pensions journe...

In this special edition, Tom is joined by Brian Gielty, Editor-in-Chief of LAPF Investments Magazine, to run through the latest issue of the magazine, from a cover interview with London CIV’s Dean Bowden, to taking a closer look at the new independent person role. They also cover the latest from the Scheme Advisory Board, including new guidance on investing in conflict areas and research into gend...

Tom and Nick report back from the DC and Master Trust Summit, where fears are growing that value for money's traffic-light ratings could push schemes to "herd" toward a safe light-green rather than risk the fallout of amber or red. Also on the agenda: the industry's about-turn on forward-looking performance metrics, and a new LGPS case study on the gender pensions gap. Hosted on...

Tom and Nick look at TPR's shift towards "no surprises" enforcement and what early engagement really buys schemes. Also on the agenda: the government's contested £25bn DC scale test, new data on retirement housing costs, and a tale of two LGPS pools as Wales secures full FCA authorisation while Access prepares to close its doors. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this special edition, Tom sits down with Brian Gielty, Editor-in-Chief of LAPF Investments Magazine, to unpack the brand new Issue 10, from a career-spanning cover interview with LGPS legend Fiona Miller to deep dives on climate risk, local investment, pension committees, and the gender pensions gap. Plus, a first look at the shortlists for the 2026 LAPF Investments Awards, taking place 30 Sept...

In this episode of the LGPS Interviews, we sit down with Max Townshend, Head of Investment Strategy at LPPI, to discuss how the pool has managed its recent expansion from three to nine partner funds. He shares what that growth has meant for the team day-to-day, how LPPI is rethinking its product range and investment beliefs to serve a more diverse partnership, and his views on local investment, su...

Tom and Nick look at the risks trustees may have overlooked over the summer, from DB schemes drifting without a clear endgame strategy to the growing investment implications of climate change, AI and a more fragmented geopolitical landscape. Also on the agenda: the latest LGPS debate over investment in conflict zones and the tricky question of fiduciary duty, before turning to Oxfordshire Pension...

Tom and Nick unpack a TPR enforcement report involving the Plumbing and Mechanical Services scheme, an unpaid debt, and a fined accountant. Also on the agenda: Torsten Bell's continued grip on the pensions brief, Lords criticism of the Pension Schemes Bill, and a possible new fund from Nest, Railpen and the LGPS pools aimed at scaling up UK businesses. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy f...

Torsten Bell drops a bumper package of regulatory roadmap updates - Tom and Nick sift through the value for money delay, guided retirement, and the pushed-back superfund timeline. The pair also discuss LGPS contribution rates, and what the Pensions Commission's call for evidence responses reveal about the industry's asks. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of our LGPS Interviews series, we sit down with Mark Smith, Head of the Oxfordshire Pension Fund and newly appointed Senior LGPS Officer, to unpack what the role really involves day to day. Mark shares candid insight into governance reviews, local government reorganisation, pooling, the new independent person role, and Oxfordshire's approach to local investment. Hosted on Acast. Se...

In this episode of the LGPS Interviews, we sit down with Jennifer Devine, head of Wiltshire Pension Fund, to discuss the fund's journey to a new pool following the Fit for the Future reforms. She shares what it was like to receive the news, how the fund set about finding a new pooling partner, and the lessons learned along the way. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Tom and Nick are joined by special guest Brian Gielty to dig into the newly published LGPS statutory guidance - from the Secretary of State's new intervention powers to the revamped four-tier governance ratings - plus reflections from the LAPF June conference, surplus strategy, and Faith Ward's move to LPPI Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

With SpaceX has gone public at a $2tn-plus valuation, Tom and Nick dig into what dual-class shares and fast-tracked index inclusion mean for pension investors who didn't sign up to own a piece of SpaceX. Plus the DWP's review of flexible apportionment arrangements after Aberdeen quietly took on Stagecoach's entire DB scheme, and Surrey's move to become a single purpose pension authority. Hosted on...

The beautiful game continues - for people who still get a little too excited about replacement rates. In part two, Tom and Nick pick up where the spreadsheet left off, taking the surviving nations from the Round of 16 all the way to the final to crown the world's greatest pension system. Brian is back on VAR duty, weighting his replacement rates and steadfastly denying he's been siding with anyone...

It's the beautiful game, reimagined for people who get a little too excited about replacement rates. Hosts Tom and Nick have done something nobody asked for: assessed all 48 World Cup nations across eight pension and lifestyle metrics and run a full knockout tournament to crown the world's greatest retirement system. There's no group stage, because the real ones are complicated enough - but there...

The pensions news keeps coming, so Thomas and Nick spin the wheel again. This time: Fit for the Future deadline shuffles for LGPS pools, Nick's enduring (and largely solo) excitement about pensions dashboards, the thorny question of who actually understands the AI creeping into the industry, and what the latest Retirement Living Standards really tell us. Plus a World Cup of pension systems - comin...

The Pensions Commission's interim report has landed - all 190 pages of it - confirming what the industry already feared: 15 million people are under-saving. Tom and Nick dig into what happens before the full report arrives in "early 2027" (definition pending). Plus the shrinking-but-still-enormous gender pensions gap, conflict-zone and local investment, and the regulator's new line on AI - includi...

In this episode of the LGPS Interviews, we sit down with Louise Jack, chief operating and financial officer at LPPI, to discuss how the pool has tripled its client base and doubled its assets under management following the Fit for the Future consultation. Louise shares insights on recruitment and integrating Brunel staff, opening the new Bristol office, building trust with partner funds, and the g...

In a new episode of our LGPS Interviews Special, Nick and Thomas sit down with Border to Coast Chief Investment Officer Joe McDonnell. Joe shares his perspective on navigating geopolitical turbulence, the realities of welcoming seven new partner funds into the pool, and how Border to Coast is approaching local investment, asset transition, and the question of scale Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/p...

Recorded live (well, live-ish) at the Pooling Symposium, Nick and Tom are joined by two LGPS heavyweights – Roger Phillips and Clair Alcock of the Scheme Advisory Board – to unpack what the newly-minted Pension Schemes Act actually means for the LGPS. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Pension Schemes Bill is now the Pension Schemes Act. Nick and Tom walk through the final week of parliamentary ping pong and the last-minute concessions that got mandation over the line - the sunset clause, the savers' interest test, and the new report on barriers to UK investment. They also dig into the parts of the Act overshadowed by the mandation row: DB superfunds, value for money, surplu...

Tom and Nick return from the Easter break to find the Pension Schemes Bill's Commons debate a bit of a damp squib, with the government sweeping aside Lords amendments and the Conservatives pledging repeal if they win the next election. Plus, Railpen and LAPFF line up against BP's chair ahead of the 23 April AGM. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The LGPS pooling deadline has passed - so what happens now? Tom and Nick dig into the practical reality of asset transitions, the government's firm stance on salary sacrifice, and whether concessions on mandation might be quietly in the works. Plus, a look at what Australian superannuation can (and can't) teach the UK. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.