Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) administering authorities may struggle to deliver the changes proposed in the government's access and fairness consultation, as they are already implementing other time-intensive changes, such as the McCloud remedy and connection to the pensions dashboard, Hymans Robertson has warned.

The consultation, launched in May, aims to address important social issues and rectify the inequality and discrimination that some members of the LGPS face.

However, the firm argued its success will depend on changes being implemented in a timeframe that seamlessly integrates with the LGPS' current workload.

Indeed, LGPS pension administrators' software providers are stretched as they work to develop the required solutions for the McCloud remedy, which has already been delayed.

Nonetheless, Hymans Robertson governance, administration and projects (GAP) consultant, Con Hargrave, praised the consultation's aims, saying the government was taking "welcome steps" to address long-standing and important issues in the LGPS.

"The proposals in the consultation should help improve member outcomes and rectify some of the inequalities and discrimination that exist in the LGPS," he continued.

However, he warned that some of the changes will, in practice, be complex to deliver and likely require manual and time-consuming calculations, as well as historic investigations.

"This doesn't mean that the changes aren't valuable, but it does mean that expectations should be realistic to ensure that the government's aims can be met," Hargrave added.

With this in mind, the consultant has urged the government to stagger the implementation of the proposals to prevent overloading administrators.

"The proposals to change how periods of absence are treated under the scheme will require employer payroll developments, and this is therefore an obvious candidate for delayed implementation, so that the necessary preparations can take place," he explained.

"Whilst it is likely the changes to address the Goodwin discrimination will be amongst the government's highest priorities, the administration requirements are some of the most complex.

For this, clear and detailed implementation expectations from the government will be helpful and ensure that administrators can plan comprehensively for the changes they need to make," Hargrave said.

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