The 2022 National Knowledge Assessment, a nationwide assessment to gauge levels of knowledge and understanding in the Local Governance Pension Schemes (LGPS), has been launched by Hymans Robertson.

The assessment will aim to provide “invaluable evidence and information” to participating LGPS funds taking part in the exercise, and the findings will form part of a national report for the LGPS.

The analysis provided by the assessment will benchmark each participant fund in an anonymous basis.

Previous results from 2020 found that areas, such as pension administration, are “less familiar” to committee and board members and more training “was required”, while levels of knowledge were strongest in "traditional areas".

The assessment was designed following recommendations from the Scheme Advisory Board that LGPS pension committee and pension board members should evidence their understanding and capability.

Hymans Robertson senior governance and administration consultant, Andrew McKerns, commented: “Over the years, against a backdrop of change for the pension industry, there has been a broadening of the topics that pension committee and board members have had to address, with increased pressure on funds to evidence their understanding and knowledge.

“Since our last assessment, it is encouraging to see many LGPS funds have taken a proactive stance with their training plans, and we want to see this continue. “

McKerns also urged "as many LGPS stakeholders as possible" to take part in the assessment and share their experiences, emphasising that this will be the first post-pandemic national assessment undertaken.

"The pandemic has driven fundamental changes in the LGPS, not least in new ways of working and the growth of online tools, but also more focussed and shorter training session with increased effectiveness," he added.

“We hope the assessment will show that these developments during this exceptional time have had a positive impact on overall training and development.

“The findings from the assessments can help provide a clearer picture on the levels of public sector understanding – and highlight gaps. This information can help to evolve how we work within our governance structures to deliver the best standards for the scheme, and funds, going forward.”

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