More than half (59 per cent) of Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) professionals are concerned about the potential for further mandatory consolidation, a poll at the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Associations' (PLSA) Local Authority Conference 2023 has revealed.

The survey of attendees found that 25 per cent are very concerned about the potential for further mandatory consolidation of pools, while 34 per cent are fairly concerned, and just 6 per cent were not at all concerned.

In addition to this, it found that over a third (37 per cent) of attendees disagreed that the pools need to be consolidated, while 18 per cent strongly disagreed, compared to 33 per cent who agreed or strongly agreed that pools need to be consolidated.

Responses were more divided on the question of how important it is for the government to facilitate an increase in speed in the transfer of all funds’ assets into pools, with 23 per cent of respondents believing it was “somewhat important”, while 36 per cent viewed it as “not so important”.

Reflecting on the results, Redington head of LGPS, Jill Davys, suggested that greater clarity and transparency from government could prove helpful in alleviating concerns, pointing out it's been around four years since the last consultation came out, and "we are still waiting".

"Whilst people can get on this stuff in the meantime, there will need to be some clarity and transparency from government, at least having some policy division so that people can have a view as to how to take things forward," she continued.

And whilst Davys acknowledged that there has been some indications that funds should "get on with it faster", she argued that it "is not always that easy", particularly when it comes to private markets.

Merseyside Pension Fund director of pensions, Peter Wallach, also revealed the practical impact of this lack of clarity, revealing that the fund has "put one or two activities on hold ahead of clarity around pooling, when perhaps we should have just cracked on".

He added: "We spend a lot of time speculating, needlessly really, about pooling and what it will bring and what it won’t bring, and there are so many other big issues that the LGPS needs to be dealing with this. It's an unnecessary distraction for us personally."

However, Surrey County Council LGPS senior officer, assistant director, Neil Mason, was less concerned about the delay on guidance and clarity, arguing that "we need to just get on with it".

"We know what good governance looks like, and we know what good collaboration in the LGPS looks like," he stated.

Whilst Davys agreed in part with this, she emphasised that there is "money at stake", warning that taking early action or transitioning assets only to have to transition them again will carry cost implications, and that having some "real clarity" would help.

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