Committee and local pension board members have revealed compellingly high levels of confidence in their management of the UKs Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS).
A national survey of over half the LGPS funds by Hymans Robertson found high levels of confidence in all areas of responsibility, including investment performance and actuarial standards.
A whopping 91% of committee and local pension board members feel "mostly or completely confident" with the committee role and pensions legislation, while risk management also scored particularly high.
Hymans Robertson head of benefits consulting, Ian Colvin, said it was encouraging that respondents were so confident amid a backdrop of profound change for LGPS funds.
"The last few years have seen great upheaval and change for public sector pension schemes with the introduction of pooling alongside increased regulatory scrutiny," he continued.
"Many LGPS funds have embraced these changes, and their decision makers feel equipped to cope with the new landscape with a renewed and welcome confidence."
The LGPS is one of the largest public sector pension schemes in the UK with over 5 million members, and is made up of individual funds with assets worth billions of pounds.
The survey measured confidence in governance, administration, accounting, investment performance, risk management, product knowledge, actuarial methods, the committee role and legislation.
Despite confidence being high across all areas, Colvin said there was no room for complacency, and that committee and pension board members must continue to enhance their knowledge and standards.
"It is important that decision makers aim not for peak knowledge in just a few areas, but have strong knowledge in all areas under their responsibility," he continued.
"We would suggest that funds build their own individual confidence assessment results into training plans in the coming 18 months, specifically addressing areas that may have shown lower levels of confidence."
