The Norfolk Pension Fund — which manages retirement savings for tens of thousands of council and public sector workers across the county — is preparing for a major structural question: who will run it once Norfolk's councils are replaced by new unitary authorities in 2028?

At the Pensions Committee meeting on 23 June 2026, Director of the Norfolk Pension Fund Glenn Cossey explained that the newly established shadow unitary authorities will be responsible for deciding which one of them becomes the fund's administering authority. If they cannot agree, there is also an option to create a single-purpose pension authority — and as a last resort, the Secretary of State would make the call.

The fund is already participating in finance workstream discussions as part of Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) planning, with final options for the administering authority expected to emerge during the project's design stage.

The committee also heard that LGR could complicate how the fund manages its admissions agreements — contracts that bring in employers such as academy schools and housing providers. Officers confirmed that contracts would be allocated across the three new unitary authorities, but acknowledged the transition posed challenges.

Separately, the committee was told the fund is making good progress on national "Fit for the Future" pension reforms. Two milestones have already been reached: an independent adviser has been appointed to the committee, and Cossey's role has been formally recognised as the Senior LGPS Officer — a designation required under the reforms.

Work planned for the next six to eighteen months includes updating the fund's Investment Strategy Statement, with a draft expected at the December 2026 committee meeting, and commissioning an independent governance review by 31 March 2028.

The committee also noted that Brian Wigg has stepped down after six years as Independent Chair of the Pensions Oversight Board. Authority to recruit a replacement was delegated to Cossey, in consultation with committee chair Cllr Peter Lawrence.