Employer bulletin February 2026

We recently issued an iConnect newsletter and year end checklists to help you prepare. The newsletter contains hints and tips for submitting an accurate monthly data file to minimise year-end queries.

We are still running the following training and information sessions throughout March to help you prepare to submit your March file and address any subsequent queries that may arise.

• The importance of your March submission.
• Managing your year end queries.

We are also holding a final salary pay training session on 23 March 2026 and a CARE and assumed pensionable pay training session on 19 March 2026 at 10:00am, open to all employers. We would encourage you to book on to refresh your knowledge about what should be included in members’ pay and how to calculate it. You can book any of the above sessions by visiting our events page.

You should have received an email from us recently confirming your employer contribution rates for the next three years. If you use a third party payroll provider, please remember to share your new contribution rate with them before April, so they can implement any changes in time.

Employee contribution bands have also been updated. You can find these at New contribution bands 2026 : LGPS. We have also made these available on our employer website and we will be updating our member website shortly. Please ensure you are applying these new bands from 1 April and notify members if their contribution band changes.

The government has now provided its response to the LGPS Access and Fairness consultation. The response summarises the proposals, the responses received, and the government’s intended actions.

We have recently added a new page to our website to provide more tailored information for members who are diagnosed with a terminal illness. There is now also a printable booklet containing this information, which you may wish to share with any employees who have recently received a terminal diagnosis.

We have recently updated the ‘you said, we did’ section on our employer website to highlight any changes and improvements that we have made based on employer feedback and suggestions. You can see this by visiting You said, so we did - GMPF.

We have developed a new employer training strategy designed to strengthen the support we provide to employers and improve the overall training experience. This new strategy aims to improve the quality of our existing training offer by introducing a wider range of courses and expanding the online resources available, making learning more flexible and accessible.

We continue to run employer training workshops on several topics. These sessions may be helpful if you are new or want to refresh your knowledge on subjects such as ill health, pensionable pay, retirements, leavers, topping up benefits, and employer discretions.

You can book by visiting the events section of the employer website. Spaces are limited and will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis.  

The Local Government Association (LGA) has published Bulletin 272, which contains several LGPS updates.

The latest publications from our Actuary, Hymans Robertson, are available. The webpage allows you to filter subjects and audience types easily so you can read the publications that are of interest to you.