The government has launched a consultation on a range of proposals relating to the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) in England and Wales, covering issues such as the gender pensions gap, forfeiture concerns, and opt-out rates.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government explained that much of the consultation focuses on equal access to the scheme and its benefits, as the government looks to improve fairness and address "key issues that have been neglected for too long".

In particular, the consultation is gathering views on plans to address survivor pensions and death grants, in order to fix historic discrimination and ensure equal access to the scheme, regardless of the sex of the eligible member and those they leave behind on death.

Due to issues with the existing regulations, there have been instances where those in same-sex marriages and civil partnerships receive a more generous pension entitlement than those in opposite-sex marriages and partnerships.

However, the proposed reforms are intended to remove all discrimination on the basis of the sex of those affected.

The consultation also contains proposals to address the "significant" gender pensions gap in the LGPS, with a focus on access to the scheme benefits for women.

Whilst the government acknowledged that many of the causes for gender pension gaps may lie in how society is structured and go beyond the LGPS, it argued that there are still steps that it can take to make progress now.

In particular, the government outlined plans to return to the approach used for authorised unpaid absences in the LGPS before 2014, where authorised unpaid absences under 31 days were automatically pensionable for all members.

Currently, authorised unpaid absences under 31 days in the LGPS are not automatically pensionable, with the exception of sickness, ordinary maternity and adoption and paternity leave.

Instead, when the member returns to work, they can choose to buy back the pension lost during the absence.

However, the government said that evidence from the LGPS Scheme Advisory Board suggested that most members who take authorised unpaid absence do not buy back the pension lost.

And this process "disproportionately penalises women", as it is mostly women who take such unpaid leave, with data from SAB showing that across two example funds, 90 per cent of unpaid leave is taken by women.

Given this, the government has called for a return to the approach used for authorised unpaid absences in the LGPS before 2014, where authorised unpaid absences under 31 days were automatically pensionable for all members.

Both employee and employer contributions would be made, based on the member’s lost earnings, and pension would continue to be accrued, in order to make catching up with small gaps in pensionable service the default option.

The government also outlined measures that would make the LGPS in England and Wales the first public service pension scheme - of which nearly three quarters (74 per cent) are women - to make the last 13 weeks of statutory maternity pay automatically pensionable.

The consultation also outlines proposals related to people who opt out of the scheme, as the government said that it believes the LGPS is a good scheme and views the number of members who opt out with concern.

To gather more information on this issue, the government proposed systematically collecting data about how many members are making this choice, and why, with plans to publish a Gov Form alongside the new opt-out form that administering authorities should be using when a member chooses to opt out.

The proposals also aim to tackle some long-standing issues with forfeiture in the LGPS, which can be used to remove benefit entitlements for those who have been convicted of crimes that bring public service into disrepute.

There are also broader proposals that do not directly relate to access to the scheme, but are instead intended to make several technical changes, to improve the day-to-day running of the scheme.

This includes issues relating to the McCloud remedy, which aims to fix issues with the operation of the McCloud underpin that have only been identified now that administering authorities are working their way through remedy calculations.

As part of the consultation, the government is gathering industry views on the potential administrative impact, as it acknowledged that the package of proposals outlined would lead to a large number of changes, which would affect millions of members.

Subject to consideration of responses to the consultation, the government intends to proceed with a new statutory instrument (SI) to implement changes to the LGPS Regulations, sharing the draft SI alongside its consultation.

However, it confirmed that it will continue to work with the SAB and others before laying a statutory instrument

Commenting in the foreword of the report, Minister of State for Local Government and English Devolution, Jim McMahon, said: "This government cares about the LGPS.

"We care about the impact it can have at scale, unleashing growth and supporting critical investment in the UK. We also care about the personal experience of the millions of individual members that make up the scheme, members who have often given their whole working lives to public service.

"That’s why we’re launching this consultation. It fundamentally improves fairness in and access to the LGPS, addressing key issues that have been neglected for too long and treating them with the urgency they deserve.

"Its focus on equality, fairness, integrity, efficiency, accuracy and rewarding hard work reflects the government’s commitment to making work pay and improving workers’ rights.

"Some of these changes are definitive answers to long-standing problems, like ensuring equality of survivor benefit entitlement, and some are just the beginning of the work to be done, like the proposals on the gender pension gap, but they are a key and essential step in the right direction.

"They position the LGPS as leading the way across the public sector pensions landscape. I hope you’ll join me in seeing the opportunity presented in this consultation to make real, lasting, positive impact to LGPS members and the communities they represent."

Adding to this, Pensions Minister, Torsten Bell, said: “Today’s changes will ensure more public servants get the benefits and security they deserve.

“Our reforms to Local Government Pension Schemes are bringing fairness and equality to workers, while boosting the potential of schemes to drive opportunity and growth in local communities.”

---