We are the Oxfordshire Pension Fund and one of 86 funds in England and Wales set up under the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS). The fund is a statutory entity created:
- to be responsible for maintaining a defined benefit (DB) pension fund
- to invest assets
- to administer benefits for members
As of 31 March 2025, 200 employers were contributing to the scheme, and over 85,000 members were enrolled.
What we do
We collect contributions from employers and scheme members. We invest cash not immediately needed to meet liabilities to generate an investment return.
We are responsible for investing contributions from employers and employees to grow their value through investment returns. We are also responsible for managing the existing financial assets to pay pensions. These responsibilities go alongside setting employer contribution rates and paying benefits.
Governance
Oxfordshire County Council administers the fund and is legally responsible for it. The council delegates its responsibility for administering the fund to the Oxfordshire Pension Fund Committee, which is its formal decision-making body.
The committee consists of seven voting members, made up of county councillors, and three non-voting members. These members are selected to provide broad representation across the range of employers and members in the fund.
The Fund must also operate a local pension board. The board is not a decision-making body but helps the pension fund comply with the LGPS rules, overriding pensions legislation and guidance from the Pensions Regulator. The Local Pension Board is made up of employer and member representatives.
Pooling
In response to government pooling requirements, the fund is part of the LGPS Central pool with 14 other Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) funds. The members of the LGPS central pool are:
- Cheshire
- Derbyshire
- Gloucestershire
- Hampshire
- Isle of Wight
- Leicestershire
- Nottinghamshire
- Norfolk
- Oxfordshire
- Shropshire
- Staffordshire
- Suffolk
- West Midlands
- Wiltshire and Worcestershire
LGPS Central is one of six LGPS pension pools, with around £100bn in assets under management. Their role is to manage all investments on behalf of the 15 schemes in the LGPS central pool. The role includes implementing the fund's asset allocation preferences and responsible investment commitments.