Membership
As at 31 March 2024, the total membership of the Scheme was 6.68million, compared with 6.49million as at 31 March 2023. The greatest increase in absolute and relative terms was to pensioner membership, which increased by 2.03 per cent relative to total membership and 6.35 per cent relative to pensioner membership over the year to March 2024.
Active membership of the LGPS has continued to grow, with the biggest absolute and relative increase since 2020. Deferred membership of the LGPS has decreased -0.06 per cent relative to overall membership and -0.2 per cent relative to deferred membership.
LGPS membership as a whole has continued to grow with an increase of 2.84 per cent over the year, the largest increase since 2020.
| Year | Actives (000) | Deferreds (000) | Pensioners (000) | Total (000) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 31 March 2014 | 1,821 | 1,732 | 1,459 | 5,012 |
| 31 March 2015 | 1,870 | 1,798 | 1,487 | 5,155 |
| 31 March 2016 | 1,914 | 1,881 | 1,540 | 5,335 |
| 31 March 2017 | 1,941 | 2,052 | 1,625 | 5,619 |
| 31 March 2018 | 2,011 | 2,167 | 1,685 | 5,863 |
| 31 March 2019 | 1,957 | 2,214 | 1,728 | 5,899 |
| 31 March 2020 | 2,019 | 2,307 | 1,833 | 6,160 |
| 31 March 2021 | 2,018 | 2,328 | 1,881 | 6,226 |
| 31 March 2022 | 2,049 | 2,384 | 1,955 | 6,388 |
| 31 March 2023 | 2,090 | 2,398 | 2,006 | 6,494 |
| 31 March 2024 | 2,148 | 2,394 | 2,142 | 6,684 |
| Increase (decrease) 2015 | 1.00% | 1.50% | 0.60% | 3.10% |
| Increase (decrease) 2016 | 0.60% | 1.20% | 0.80% | 2.60% |
| Increase (decrease) 2017 | 1.20% | 4.10% | 2.10% | 7.50% |
| Increase (decrease) 2018 | 0.80% | 1.40% | 0.90% | 3.10% |
| Increase (decrease) 2019 | (0.90%) | 0.90% | 0.60% | 0.60% |
| Increase (decrease) 2020 | 1.10% | 1.60% | 1.80% | 4.40% |
| Increase (decrease) 2021 | 0.00% | 0.30% | 0.80% | 1.10% |
| Increase (decrease) 2022 | 0.50% | 0.90% | 1.20% | 2.60% |
| Increase (decrease) 2023 | 0.60% | 0.20% | 0.80% | 1.60% |
| Increase (decrease) 2024 | 0.87% | (0.06%) | 2.03% | 2.84% |
Growth in the sections of membership calculated relative to the total.
| Year | Actives | Deferreds | Pensioners | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 31 March 20 | 36.30% | 34.60% | 29.10% | 100% |
| 31 March 2015 | 36.30% | 34.90% | 28.80% | 100% |
| 31 March 2016 | 35.90% | 35.30% | 28.90% | 100% |
| 31 March 2017 | 34.60% | 36.50% | 28.90% | 100% |
| 31 March 2018 | 34.30% | 37.00% | 28.70% | 100% |
| 31 March 2019 | 33.20% | 37.50% | 29.30% | 100% |
| 31 March 2020 | 32.80% | 37.50% | 29.80% | 100% |
| 31March 2021 | 32.40% | 37.40% | 30.20% | 100% |
| 31 March 2022 | 32.10% | 37.30% | 30.10% | 100% |
| 31 March 2023 | 32.20% | 36.90% | 30.90% | 100% |
| 31 March 2024 | 32.14% | 35.82% | 32.05% | 100% |
Employers
The total number of employers with active contributing members was 15,049 compared to 13,802** in 2023. Before 2020 a figure for total number of employers was accumulated. This figure included funds who reported a total based on employers with active, deferred and/or pensioner members and others who reported a total number of employers only with active members. This total figure is considered too inconsistent to report and was amended to include only employers with active membership.
**This figure does not include 8 funds as they did not provide numbers of employers so is not directly comparable.
The 2024 Annual Report Guidance stated that employers should be reported by type, e.g., scheduled, admitted and designated bodies. This data was only found in 76% of fund annual reports.
| Scheduled Bodies | Admitted Bodies | Designated Bodies | Total Employers with Active Members |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6160 | 3639 | 478 | 15,049 |
| Fund administering authority type | Count of funds | Average number of active employers per fund |
|---|---|---|
| Metropolitan Districts | 6 | 452 |
| County Councils/Unitaries | 38 | 271 |
| London Boroughs | 31 | 50 |
| Wales | 8 | 46 |
| Other | 5 | 136 |
The chart shows how the average number of employers differs between the types of administering authority. County council administered funds typically have more participating employers compared with London boroughs. The ‘Other’ category comprises the London Pensions Fund Authority, South Yorkshire Pensions Authority, the Environment Agency funds and the City of London.
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