Mayors and councillors should have access to Local Government Pensions Scheme, LGA says

In a consultation response to the Government's proposed LGPS reforms, the LGA said it "generally" supported the principle that, as far as possible, councillors should be treated the same as other employee members of the scheme.

It also said it supported plans to let Mayors access the LGPS.

Elected members were excluded from the LGPS in 2014. The Government at the time argued that councillors were volunteers, not full-time politicians.

However, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government launched a consultation in October 2025, arguing that access should be restored to reflect the "vital public service" that mayors and councillors offer.

In its response, the LGA said that the role of members has "changed substantially" since 2024.

It noted that councillors, particularly those with special responsibilities, often give up other forms of paid work to fulfil their councillor role, and that many feel their role functions similarly to that of employed colleagues.

It added: “Indeed, councillors' responsibilities are often much higher than officers' on commensurate pay.

“We therefore propose that where these two principles are incompatible, and the schemes materially differ, the first principle of aligning the member scheme with the employee scheme should be prioritised.”

The response meanwhile noted that the Government's draft regulations failed to clarify if allowances paid for roles in other authority types would be part of the pension scheme.

It said: "The draft regulations set out the relevant amendments in relation to allowances paid by principal councils and combined authorities and combined county authorities.

"However, in several parts of the draft regulations, there are references to other authorities and types of allowances being in scope."

These could include roles in fire authorities, joint authorities under the Local Government Act 1985, the Broads Authority, national park authorities, conservation boards, and waste disposal authorities.

For the purposes of administration, "clarity is needed as to whether allowances paid for these roles are in scope of the pension scheme and how this will practically be managed", the LGA said.

The Government consultation closed to responses on 22 December. Whitehall is yet to issue its response to the consultation submissions.

Adam Carey