Steph Rutt

Our online portal has a new look. If you are already registered, you will still be able to use your current log in details. This new portal is optimised for easy use on mobile devices.

As an active member, you will be able to perform your very own benefit calculations from the data held on your pension record, so that you can actively plan for your retirement. You will be able to perform as many calculations as you wish and in future will not have to wait for your annual benefit statement to arrive before finding out what you can expect to receive when you retire. You will also be able to view and update your personal details, which includes changing your death grant expression of wish if need be.

By accessing My Pension Online, you will be able to:

• view / update your basic details;
• perform benefit calculations;
• view financial details;
• access all relevant forms;
• access your Annual Benefit Statements;
• access routine correspondence.

To register, visit www.swanseapensionfund.org.uk. The first step is to request an activation key. This will be sent to your email address. Once you have your activation key, log back in and complete your registration.

Swansea Council’s pension fund has been recognised as the best local government scheme in the UK for sustainable investment.

In recent years major steps have been taken to reduce the fund’s carbon footprint by cutting the amount of cash invested in companies with high carbon intensity.

Now the £2.1bn fund – which Swansea Council manages for Swansea, Neath Port Talbot as well as a number of other employers in the area, has been recognised at the LAPF Investments Awards, which celebrate outstanding achievement by pension funds and service providers.

Swansea won the award for the fund with the Best Approach to Sustainable Investment in the UK.

Clive Lloyd, deputy leader of Swansea Council and chair of the scheme’s pension fund committee, said: “The LAPF Investments Awards has come to be recognised as mark of excellence in the field of pensions provision so to say I’m delighted that the work being done in Swansea has been recognised is an understatement.

“We were the first local government pension scheme in Wales – and among only a small number in the world – to commission a review of our equity investment portfolio to find out the exact extent of our carbon and fossil fuel related investments.

“Since then we have moved £0.5bn of assets into low carbon index tracking funds which has reduced further what was already a low level of investments in carbon-related industries. 

“This has been done while continuing to think carefully about how the investments we manage for thousands of existing contributors and pensioners are able to maximise the required returns.

“We will continue with this approach and we will reduce even further our exposure to investment in fossil fuel companies.

“I would like to thank our pension fund committee and advisors whose hard work and determination to reduce the fund’s carbon footprint have made this possible.”

Cllr Lloyd said the award was further evidence Swansea Council was now among the best in the UK at putting environment issues at the heart of its policies.

The council has invested in a fleet of electric vehicles, it is leading the way in building energy efficient council homes, solar panels are being used to create green clean energy at many of the city’s schools and more than 21,000 street lights have been converted to LED.

Cllr Lloyd added: “This year we passed a motion in Swansea declaring a Climate Emergency and we urged the UK government to do the same.

“We are making decisions and taking practical steps every day that are making a real difference but we know we can and we will do more. We are determined to make Swansea the most green and energy efficient council in Wales.”

One of Wales’ biggest local government pension funds has started to reduce its carbon footprint by cutting the amount of cash invested in companies with high carbon intensity.

The City & County of Swansea Local Government Pension Scheme manages £2.1bn of funds for councils in Swansea and Neath Port Talbot as well as a number of other employers in the area.

Now the fund has started to reduce further its already low level of investments in carbon-related industries.

By the end of this month (note: July 2019) they will have transitioned £0.5bn of assets into a low carbon index tracking fund after a programme of trustee training which resulted in the adoption of the fund’s Environmental, Social, Governance (ESG) Policy which targeted a reduction in its carbon footprint. 

Clive Lloyd, deputy leader of Swansea Council and chair of the scheme’s pension fund committee, said:

“Like many other pension funds, we think carefully about how the investments we manage for thousands of existing contributors and pensioners are able to maximise the required returns, whilst also being mindful of our responsibilities to the environment and future generations. 

“That’s why last year we were the first local government pension scheme in Wales – and among only a small number in the world – to commission a review of our equity investment portfolio to find out the exact extent of our carbon and fossil fuel related investments. 

“The review showed that our investments in carbon-related industries were already 9% below the pension industry average. But, over the coming years, it is important that the world reduces its reliance on fossil fuels and carbon-based products, so it’s important that our investments reflect that too.

“Since the review, the committee has been looking carefully at the potential impact on the fund of reducing its listed equity exposure to investments in fossil fuel companies by up to 50% by 2022.

“This initial transition of £0.5bn – which started on July 3 – will  go a considerable way to meeting our commitment.

“As a committee we recognise the risk that climate change poses to society in general as well as to the viability of pension funds like our own. But we also have to make sure that the return on our investments is enough to provide suitable pensions for our pensioners in the years to come. 

“As a very long-term investor we also need to ensure the money we manage and invest on behalf of our members balances the need for a sufficient investment return while at the same time reducing our exposure to carbon and fossil fuel-producing firms as we make the transition to a low carbon economy.”

The carbon reduction decision was made with reference to the ESG policy. An update on the initiative will be given to a meeting of the committee this Thursday (note: July 11). 

Alongside its carbon reduction programme in its listed equity portfolio, the fund also actively seeks to invest in energy-efficient infrastructure projects (renewables, solar, alternative fuels) and clean tech in other parts of its portfolio, always seeking to optimise its return, whilst having a positive environmental impact. 

Swansea Council is setting out to become one of the most energy-efficient local authorities in Wales. 

Over the last decade the council has slashed its carbon footprint by 30%, but has plans to go even further over the coming years. 

A notice of motion aimed at declaring a Climate Emergency was agreed by full council on June 27. It calls on the city as a whole to play its part in tackling the challenges of climate change. 

The council has set an example with recent initiatives including creating the biggest electric vehicle fleet of any local authority in Wales, spending more than £6m introducing LED street lighting and retro-fitting hundreds of council homes with energy-efficient boilers and kitchens.

A change to the scheme rules has been made to provide that survivor benefits payable to a same sex spouse or a civil partner are equal those paid to the widow of a male member. 

Why has the change been made?

The change has been made as a result of a Supreme Court judgment (Walker v Innopsec) which found that Mr Walker’s male spouse was entitled to the same benefits that would have been paid if Mr Walker had left a widow in an opposite sex marriage.

Why does this apply to the LGPS?

The government believes that the implication of this judgment for all public service pensions schemes, including the LGPS, is that surviving civil partners or surviving same sex spouses should be provided with benefits equal to those that would be left to the widow of a male member.  

When does the change take effect from?

The change is backdated to the date the civil partnerships and same sex marriages were introduced – this is 5 December 2005 for civil partnerships and 13 March 2014 for same sex marriages.

This means that where a member of the LGPS has died leaving a surviving civil partner or a same sex spouse, the survivor’s pension in payment will need to be reviewed and any additional amounts paid, where applicable. We are in the process of reviewing the impact of this change and will be contacting affected civil partners and same sex spouses in due course.

The change will automatically be taken into account in survivor benefits paid to civil partners and same sex spouses in the future.