The Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA) has launched the second in a series of guides aimed at helping new and participating employers in the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS), entitled A guide for employers participating in the LGPS: Best practice.

The guide aims to give an overview of the financial commitments, administrative responsibilities and regulatory requirements that employers face once they have joined. With an impressive 11% increase in membership of the £217bn scheme between 2014 and 2015¹, helping new employers navigate the LGPS is becoming more and more crucial.

Joe Dabrowski, Head of Governance & Investment, Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association, commented:

“The last few years has seen an increasing number of scheduled² and admission bodies joining the LGPS, driven in particular by the conversion of many schools into academies. It’s often not made clear to them why they’re joining the scheme, which can make employer engagement difficult for the LGPS. This can result in new employers underestimating their obligations, particularly with regards to data requests.

“In order to help both the LGPS and new members of the scheme we have released the second in our series of LGPS guides³. The new guide aims to explain what is required of employers in simple terms, offering explanations of pension terminology where necessary.”