Unison LGPS conference

From the Unison site (you can download an application form there):

Who controls your pension?
25 March, central London
The Local Government Pension Scheme in England, Wales and Northern Ireland has assets worth more than £100bn.

This is the LGPS members’ saving plan – yet there are no member reps on the scheme’s investment funds. Why aren’t they there in the same numbers and with the same status as employers’ reps?

The law says other funded schemes have to have member reps, why not the LGPS? What’s the union doing about this? For that matter, what’s the government doing about this?

These questions and many more will be answered at a free national seminar on LGPS governance and the UNISON campaign for member representation. Get your registration form in now (see below).

Introduced by UNISON general secretary Dave Prentis. Includes speakers from the Department for Communities and Local Government, the Environment Agency, and Thompson's lawyers.

The new look LGPS has a governance working party overseeing proposed changes to the its governance arrangements.

At present there are no statutory rights for member representation on the LGPS: of the 89 funds in England and Wales only four have member-nominated representatives with voting rights.

UNISON and the other LGPS unions have pressed for statutory representation; the government has refused. It is leaning towards a scheme of best practice guidance, with no sanctions or teeth.

The LGPS unions, led by UNISON, have opened a dual campaign to participate in the government’s reform programme and seek legal opinion on bringing the LGPS up to modern standards so that investments are run in the sole interests of the beneficiaries.

Find out more on Tuesday 25 March, 10.30am-3pm, lunch provided.

Venue: NUT Headquarters
Hamilton House
Mabledon Place
London WC1H 9BD