New research exposes “blind spots” in LGPS pension gap reporting

Westminster gender pension gap almost half wider LGPS level as new research reveals more complex picture

Westminster City Council case study records an 18.7% gender pension gap, compared with 34.7% across the wider Local Government Pension Scheme. Analysis identifies significant differences across ethnicity and generation, while highlighting the absence of an LGPS-wide ethnicity benchmark.

The gender pension gap among Westminster City Council employees participating in the City of Westminster Pension Fund is almost half that recorded across the wider Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS), according to new research examining how gender, ethnicity, disability and age influence pension outcomes.

The analysis found a gender pension gap of 18.7% in the Westminster City Council case study, compared with 34.7% across the wider LGPS. Women had accrued approximately 81p in pension benefits for every £1 accrued by men, compared with 65p across the LGPS.

The findings form part of Making pensions exciting: closing the diversity pension gap in the LGPS, undertaken by Investors for Purpose and co-sponsored by the City of Westminster Pension Fund, Hymans Robertson and the LGPS Scheme Advisory Board. Westminster City Council participated as a scheme employer and provided and enabled access to the anonymised qualitative and quantitative data analysed in the case study.

Other findings include:

• Asian women had accrued approximately 12.7% more pension benefits than Asian men and Black women 3.8% more than Black men, while White women had accrued 23.8% less than White men.
• Members from ethnically diverse backgrounds had accrued 30.3% less under the career average revalued earnings (CARE) scheme than White members.
• Men from ethnically diverse backgrounds had accrued 46% less than White men, while women from ethnically diverse backgrounds had accrued 30.2% less than White women.
• Pension outcomes for disabled and non-disabled members were broadly comparable, with disabled members accruing 0.4% more under CARE.
• Generation Z had the lowest pension participation rates, with 74% of Gen Z men participating in the scheme.

The ethnicity findings require particular context. There is currently no official LGPS-wide ethnicity pension-gap measure, meaning the 30.3% ethnicity pension gap identified between members from ethnically diverse backgrounds and white members cannot be used to determine whether Westminster City Council performs better or worse than the wider scheme.

The composition of Westminster City Council’s workforce has also changed significantly. The proportion of employees from ethnically diverse backgrounds increased from 31% in 2013/14 to 47% in 2025/26, meaning many may have had less time to accrue pension benefits. Differences in length of scheme membership may therefore help explain part of the gap.

The intersectional findings also show why headline gender figures alone can mask a more complex picture. The research found positive pension outcomes for Asian and Black women relative to men from the same ethnic groups, while the largest gender gap was recorded between White women and White men.

Charlotte O’Leary, chief executive of Investors for Purpose, said:

“Westminster City Council and the City of Westminster Pension Fund deserve real credit for commissioning and enabling this research. The gender pension gap in our Westminster case study being substantially below the wider LGPS level is encouraging, and it demonstrates what is possible when employers and schemes commit to understanding the real-world issues that their members face.

“This research also shows why pension savings gap research and analysis beyond pure reporting is needed. When taken together and looking at the interaction between and across gender, ethnicity, disability and generation, the picture becomes more complex and more nuanced reflecting a need to understand root causes and systemic impacts before setting policy.

“I believe, for example, that an LGPS-wide ethnicity benchmark would be transformative based on the research. It would give every scheme and employer the ability to understand their own position, identify where action is needed and track progress over time. We are often told that we don’t have the data, but Westminster’s leadership in this has proven that the data can be gathered, analysed and acted on.

“Investors for Purpose is committed to understanding inequality as a systemic risk and opportunity that can be addressed, and we want to continue our work with leaders in this space to support in developing systems that provide the best outcomes for all people and our planet.”

Clair Alcock, SAB Secretary, said:

“I am proud that the LGPS is the first public service pension scheme to have made gender pension gap reporting business as usual. What this groundbreaking research shows is that, if we are serious about understanding inequality in pension outcomes, gender alone is not enough. By examining ethnicity, disability and age alongside gender, the report begins to build the evidence base needed to drive meaningful change. I would encourage Ministers to build on this progress by extending pension gap reporting to other protected characteristics and across all public service pension schemes.”

Gerald Almeroth, Executive Director, Finance & Resources, Westminster City Council, said:

“As a Scheme Employer within the City of Westminster Pension Fund, Westminster City Council was proud to support this work by providing employer data and insight. The findings will help strengthen our understanding of where pension gaps exist, what drives them and how employers, funds and other stakeholders can work together to improve engagement, inform policy development and ensure more people can fully benefit from the valuable retirement security offered by the LGPS.”

Greer Flanagan, Partner, Hymans Robertson said:

“We’re very proud to have contributed to this report which takes the important next step in highlighting diversity pension gaps by considering ethnicity, disability and gender gaps. The report helps us to better understand the barriers that make it harder for some people to build long-term financial security and identify ways to address them. By bringing these challenges into sharper focus, more informed action can be taken across the LGPS and beyond.”

The research also found that pension engagement frequently develops relatively late in employees’ careers, while younger workers often prioritise more immediate financial pressures, including housing and living costs.

It recommends greater disclosure and analysis of diversity pension data across the LGPS, alongside more personalised pension communications linked to different life stages and earlier support to help employees understand the long-term value of their pension.

Notes

• Making pensions exciting: closing the diversity pension gap in the LGPS was undertaken by Investors for Purpose and co-sponsored by the City of Westminster Pension Fund, Hymans Robertson and the LGPS Scheme Advisory Board.
• Westminster City Council, in its capacity as a City of Westminster Pension Fund scheme employer, provided and enabled the qualitative and quantitative data analysed within the case study.
• The qualitative research included 30 one-to-one interviews with employees, each lasting between 30 and 45 minutes.
• All data used in the analysis was anonymised. The research was conducted using privacy-by-design principles, with data handling and security subject to oversight and monitoring by Westminster City Council’s information security teams.
• There is currently no official scheme-wide LGPS measure of the ethnicity pension gap. The ethnicity findings from the Westminster case study should therefore not be interpreted as demonstrating that equivalent gaps exist across the wider LGPS, or as establishing that Westminster performs better or worse than other scheme employers.