Always a Pensions Angle

SpaceX, Surpluses and the Senior LGPS Officer 22.06.2026 51min

With SpaceX has gone public at a $2tn-plus valuation, Tom and Nick dig into what dual-class shares and fast-tracked index inclusion mean for pension investors who didn't sign up to own a piece of SpaceX. Plus the DWP's review of flexible apportionment arrangements after Aberdeen quietly took on Stagecoach's entire DB scheme, and Surrey's move to become a single purpose pension authority. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

AAPA presents... The World Cup of Pensions (Part 2) 11.06.2026 30min

The beautiful game continues - for people who still get a little too excited about replacement rates.In part two, Tom and Nick pick up where the spreadsheet left off, taking the surviving nations from the Round of 16 all the way to the final to crown the world's greatest pension system. Brian is back on VAR duty, weighting his replacement rates and steadfastly denying he's been siding with anyone.Across the closing rounds you'll get squeaky-bum-time penalty shootouts, a few heavyweight clashes, the occasional 7-1 reminder that pension assets aren't everything, and three judges, three methodologies and one increasingly inevitable champion. Strong opinions throughout. Usable financial advice: still none. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

AAPA presents... The World Cup of Pensions (Part 1) 10.06.2026 41min

It's the beautiful game, reimagined for people who get a little too excited about replacement rates.Hosts Tom and Nick have done something nobody asked for: assessed all 48 World Cup nations across eight pension and lifestyle metrics and run a full knockout tournament to crown the world's greatest retirement system. There's no group stage, because the real ones are complicated enough - but there is a referee, Brian Gielty of LAPF Investments, to adjudicate the inevitable disagreements via VAR. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Spinning the Wheel of Pensions: LGPS, Dashboards and Retirement Living Standards 08.06.2026 40min

The pensions news keeps coming, so Thomas and Nick spin the wheel again. This time: Fit for the Future deadline shuffles for LGPS pools, Nick's enduring (and largely solo) excitement about pensions dashboards, the thorny question of who actually understands the AI creeping into the industry, and what the latest Retirement Living Standards really tell us. Plus a World Cup of pension systems - coming to a future episode, maybe. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Report, the Gap and the Robot in the Room 25.05.2026 53min

The Pensions Commission's interim report has landed - all 190 pages of it - confirming what the industry already feared: 15 million people are under-saving. Tom and Nick dig into what happens before the full report arrives in "early 2027" (definition pending). Plus the shrinking-but-still-enormous gender pensions gap, conflict-zone and local investment, and the regulator's new line on AI - including whether your pension chatbot can be trusted or is just confidently making things up. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

LGPS Interviews Special: Louise Jack 20.05.2026 29min

In this episode of the LGPS Interviews, we sit down with Louise Jack, chief operating and financial officer at LPPI, to discuss how the pool has tripled its client base and doubled its assets under management following the Fit for the Future consultation. Louise shares insights on recruitment and integrating Brunel staff, opening the new Bristol office, building trust with partner funds, and the governance, operational resilience and cyber security considerations that come with scaling up. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

LGPS Interviews Special: Joe McDonnell 13.05.2026 31min

In a new episode of our LGPS Interviews Special, Nick and Thomas sit down with Border to Coast Chief Investment Officer Joe McDonnell. Joe shares his perspective on navigating geopolitical turbulence, the realities of welcoming seven new partner funds into the pool, and how Border to Coast is approaching local investment, asset transition, and the question of scale Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Live from the Pooling Symposium – A Pension Schemes Bill (Act!!) Special 08.05.2026 36min

Recorded live (well, live-ish) at the Pooling Symposium, Nick and Tom are joined by two LGPS heavyweights – Roger Phillips and Clair Alcock of the Scheme Advisory Board – to unpack what the newly-minted Pension Schemes Act actually means for the LGPS. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ping pong, Trojan horses and the Pension Schemes Act 04.05.2026 29min

The Pension Schemes Bill is now the Pension Schemes Act. Nick and Tom walk through the final week of parliamentary ping pong and the last-minute concessions that got mandation over the line - the sunset clause, the savers' interest test, and the new report on barriers to UK investment. They also dig into the parts of the Act overshadowed by the mandation row: DB superfunds, value for money, surplus release rules and small pots consolidation. Plus a preview of this week's first-ever live podcast with Roger Phillips and Clair Alcock of the Scheme Advisory Board. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ping pong, poetry, and partial u-turns 20.04.2026 34min

Tom and Nick return from the Easter break to find the Pension Schemes Bill's Commons debate a bit of a damp squib, with the government sweeping aside Lords amendments and the Conservatives pledging repeal if they win the next election. Plus, Railpen and LAPFF line up against BP's chair ahead of the 23 April AGM. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sunny in Fife, cloudy on salary sacrifice 06.04.2026 35min

The LGPS pooling deadline has passed - so what happens now? Tom and Nick dig into the practical reality of asset transitions, the government's firm stance on salary sacrifice, and whether concessions on mandation might be quietly in the works. Plus, a look at what Australian superannuation can (and can't) teach the UK. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

LGPS Interviews Special: Nick Dixon 25.03.2026 18min

Welcome to the final episode of a special, five-part series Always a Pensions Angle is running in partnership with The Fiftyfaces Podcast. In this series, we will hear from five leading figures from across the LGPS ahead of March 31st.In this episode, The Fiftyfaces Podcast host Aoifinn Devitt sits down with the Avon Pension Fund's Head of Pensions Nick Dixon. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Pension Schemes Bill Special with shadow pensions minister Helen Whately MP 20.03.2026 30min

Yes, that's right, another special episode of the podcast - oh you lucky things. This time out you join the team as they negotiate their way around the Houses of Parliament on the day that the Lords voted to remove the mandation clause from the Pension Schemes Bill. One of the most vocal voices against mandation in the halls of Westminster has been the shadow pensions minister Helen Whately, and she sat down with Nick and Tom ahead of the Lords vote to discuss her opposition to mandation. We also discuss government overreach and the triple lock. Plus, Nick and Tom take you into the Strangers Gallery of the House of Lords to witness the vote unfold in real time - and find out what happens next as the bill heads back to the Commons. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

LGPS Interviews Special: Richard Tomlinson 18.03.2026 19min

Welcome to the fourth of a special, five-part series Always a Pensions Angle is running in partnership with The Fiftyfaces Podcast. In this series, we will hear from five leading figures from across the LGPS ahead of March 31st.In this episode, The Fiftyfaces Podcast host Aoifinn Devitt sits down with LPPI's Chief Investment Officer Richard Tomlinson Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Always a Pensions Angle: Live from Edinburgh! 13.03.2026 31min

In this special edition of the Always a Pensions Angle podcast, Nick and Tom give us the lowdown on all the biggest stories to come out of the recent Pensions UK Investment Conference in Edinburgh. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's Still Not Your Money 09.03.2026 33min

Reform UK's sovereign wealth fund ambitions for the LGPS prompt a bigger question - does the outside world really understand what the scheme is and what it already does? That gets a proper airing, alongside some thorny questions about professional trustee appointments and a DWP consultation on governance. The Pension Schemes Bill is back too, naturally. Oh, and a trainee guide dog has thoughts on the mandation clause. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

LGPS Interviews Special: Clair Alcock 04.03.2026 17min

Welcome to the third of a special, five-part series Always a Pensions Angle is running in partnership with The Fiftyfaces Podcast. In this series, we will hear from five leading figures from across the LGPS ahead of March 31st.In this episode, The Fiftyfaces Podcast host Aoifinn Devitt sits down with Clair Alcock, Board Secretary of the LGPS Scheme Advisory Board Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

LGPS Interviews Special: Peter Wallach 25.02.2026 18min

Welcome to the second of a special, five-part series Always a Pensions Angle is running in partnership with The Fiftyfaces Podcast. In this series, we will hear from five leading figures from across the LGPS ahead of March 31st.In this episode, The Fiftyfaces Podcast host Aoifinn Devitt sits down with Merseyside Pension Fund's Director of Pensions Peter Wallach Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Whose Job Is It Anyway? Pension regulation, market oversight, and the forgotten workforce 23.02.2026 34min

One of the pensions world's more stubborn headaches gets a proper airing - does it actually make sense to have both the FCA and TPR overseeing pensions? From there the conversation turns to a new global report and some uncomfortable questions about whether gig economy workers are being left behind on retirement saving. Oh, and two people who have clearly never considered the finer points of skeleton racing attempt to find a pensions angle from the sport. It goes about as well as you'd expect! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

LGPS Interviews Special: Trevor Castledine 18.02.2026 19min

Welcome to the first of a special, five-part series Always a Pensions Angle is running in partnership with The Fiftyfaces Podcast. In this series, we will hear from five leading figures from across the LGPS ahead of March 31st.In this first episode, The Fiftyfaces Podcast host Aoifinn Devitt sits down with LGPS Central's Chief Client and Advisory Officer Trevor Castledine. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.