Lothian Pension Fund administers the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) in Edinburgh and the Lothians. We’re an asset-backed and multi-employer scheme with £10 billion of assets, and we're the second largest LGPS fund in Scotland, serving more than 88,000 members and 60 active employers.
LPF is unique in Scotland in operating an FCA-regulated investment arm, which allows the team to provide advisory services and to manage assets for third parties. We manage over 90% of assets in-house via internal equity and bond portfolios and infrastructure/property investment.
In 2015, we established a company called LPFI Limited. LPFI is authorised by the FCA (Financial Conduct Authority) to deliver investment services which enables our collaboration with other LGPS funds.
In March 2017, we became the first UK Local Government pension fund awarded accreditation for the Pensions Administration Standards Association and have held the Customer Service Excellence Award for over 10 years.
Pension matters are delegated to the Pensions Committee of the City of Edinburgh Council (as administrating authority for the Local Government Pension Scheme in the Lothian area), supported by its Audit Sub Committee. The members act as ‘quasi trustees’ and meet four times a year.
The Pensions Committee decides the overall policy objectives, strategy and operation of the Fund in accordance with relevant legislation and in the best interests of its members and employers. It also decides the strategy for the investment of pension fund money and monitors and reviews investment arrangements. Its purpose and structure are set out in the Committee's terms of reference and the procedural matters for the meeting are detailed in LPF's procedural standing orders shown in the Publications section at the end of the page.
Pensions Committee meetings are open to the public. You can view Committee reports, find information on attending a meeting or request to speak at the meeting by visiting www.edinburgh.gov.uk/CPOL.
The Pensions Committee is made up of five City of Edinburgh Council elected members and two non-councillor members who all have full voting rights. The two non-councillor members are appointed from both the employers and scheme members. These roles are re-elected every three years.
The Pensions Audit Sub-Committee monitors the operation of the Fund's internal controls, governance, risk and compliance arrangements and financial reporting. Two Pension Board members also attend the Audit Sub-Committee to provide oversight for the Board. Its members are:
The Public Service Pensions Act 2013 set out the requirement to have a Pension Board and the membership requirements are outlined in the LGPS 2014 regulations. The Board’s role is to oversee the Fund’s operation and ensure that it’s meeting its legal and administrative requirements. There’s a Pension Board constitution. The Board attends all Pensions Committee meetings and representatives also attend the Audit Sub-Committee meetings.
The Board membership comprises of ten members; five representatives appointed from the employer bodies, and five representatives appointed by trade unions for the membership of the Fund.
The Committee and Board members must attend no less than 21 hours of training per year as outlined in the Fund's training policy and adhere to the Code of Conduct. Both of these are also shown in the Publications section at the end of the page.
The Fund appointed an Independent Professional Observer to strengthen governance within the Fund. Alison Murray was appointed as the Observer in September 2023 and her role is to provide independent observations to enhance scrutiny of the decision making and provide both the Committee and Board with additional experience and knowledge which is impartial from Fund officers.
Lothian Pension Fund provides strategic investment advisory services to partner funds, and this service is delivered through LPFI Limited, a corporate body wholly owned by the City of Edinburgh Council. LPFI Limited is a limited company with registered number SC497542 and authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (Reference Number 741954) having its registered office at 4th Floor Saltire Court, 20 Castle Terrace, Edinburgh, EH1 2EN.
Lothian Pension Fund officers and colleagues are employed by an arms-length corporate body, LPFE Limited, a corporate body wholly owned by the City of Edinburgh Council as the administering authority. LPFE Limited is a limited company with registered number SC497543 and having its registered office at 4th Floor Saltire Court, 20 Castle Terrace, Edinburgh, EH1 2EN.
The Fund collaborates with Falkirk Council Pension Fund and Fife Council Pension Fund by participating in a Joint Investment Forum (JIF) to support investment decision-making. Meetings of the JIF take place quarterly and are attended by the external investment advisers, LPFI and representatives from each participating fund, and provide a forum for collective discussion and receiving advice. In this way, representatives from each participating fund are supported in making investment decisions which may, where they consider it appropriate, align the three Pension Funds’ investment approach and drive collaboration between them.
The assets of Lothian Pension Fund, Falkirk Council Pension Fund and Fife Council Pension Fund remain separate. Find more about the Fund's investments.
A Scheme Advisory Board (SAB) for the Local Government Pension Scheme in Scotland was set up on 1 April 2015. Its main function is to advise Scottish ministers, when requested, on changes to the Scheme. They also provide guidance to the Pension Committee (scheme manager) and Pension Board about effective and efficient administration and scheme management. The Scheme Advisory Board has seven member and seven employer representatives. Councillor Watt, the Convener of the Pensions Committee and Brian Robertson, LPF (Lothian Pension Fund) Pension Board employee representative, are both currently members of SAB (Scheme Advisory Board) and officers of the Fund also advise the Board.