Your LGPS pension made easy

Following a survey of pension fund members last year, Lewisham Council Pensions Investment Committee met on 17 March to discuss the results and agree updates to some of its policies. Where we have email addresses for pension fund members, we will share this information via email. Members will also receive an update with their annual statement later this year.  

Lewisham Council’s Pensions Investment Committee has updated some of its policies following a survey of pension fund members. 

At a meeting on 17 March, the Committee approved updates to its Responsible Investment Beliefs Statement, Engagement Policy and Carbon Transition to Net Zero Plan. The changes set out a wider range of issues the Committee will consider when working with its primary pension fund manager to decide the sort of companies it invests in and what action it wants managers to take. 

At the end of last year all pension fund members - including pensioners, people no longer paying into the pension, and those currently paying in – were invited to share their views and priorities in terms of responsible investment. 

Most respondents said they believed the Fund should avoid negative societal impacts, but not at the expense of investment returns.  

They also said they expected the Committee to engage with investment managers around environmental, social and governance (ESG) matters and that they expect the Committee to ensure investments align with responsible investment priorities over time, and that any changes should be implemented carefully, prioritising financial returns. 

The updates come as local government pensions across London are set to be pooled under the London Collective Investment Vehicle (London CIV) from the end of March. The work undertaken by the Pensions Investment Committee will help to shape the approach to responsible investment, which the London CIV will then deliver for the fund. 

Chair of the Pensions Investment Committee, Cllr Sian Eiles, said: “I’m very grateful to those pension fund members who took the time to share their views with us. This has allowed us to make some changes to our Responsible Investment Beliefs Statement, Engagement Policy and Carbon Transition to Net Zero Action Plan and gives us assurance that we are acting on the wishes of the majority of those who shared their views. 

“This sits alongside a whole raft of work done, or commissioned by, the Committee, including detailed review of its current exposure to countries with poor human rights records; analysis of exposure to arms and weapons companies, and the transparent reporting of the detailed public investments in companies on the Funds website.  Whilst this exposure is not significant it provides a baseline of understanding in terms of the potential impact of the agreed changes our approach to responsible investment.  

“As a result, I’ve been working with the London CIV (London Collective Investment Vehicle) to make sure Lewisham’s views shape and inform decisions made as London moves to being a fully pooled fund. This has resulted in the London CIV offering a range of approaches to responsible investment that should enable the Lewisham Pension Fund to achieve the ambitions and intent of its own responsible investment beliefs and policies. As is required, any changes to investment approach as a result of this will come forward to the Lewisham Pensions Investment Committee for formal consideration.” 

For more information about the Committee’s work, including the updated polices, visit Lewisham Pension Fund.  

The Committee’s decisions are informed by the Survey results but acknowledge a low response rate of 1,015 – or circa 3% of pension fund members. Pension Fund Members were informed of the survey via letter, email and a reminder email in October and December 2025.