Sussex and Brighton elected member pensions change
If the title made your eyes blur, you are not alone. The Local Government Pension Scheme (Elected Member Pensions) (Consequential Amendment) Regulations 2026 sound technical because they are technical. But the practical point is simple. According to legislation.gov.uk, the rule was made on 14 April 2026, laid before Parliament on 15 April 2026, and comes into force on 11 May 2026. In plain English, this change means the Sussex and Brighton Combined County Authority must treat most allowances paid to elected members as pensionable. Formally, the instrument extends to England and Wales, but the real-world effect here is about one authority in Sussex and Brighton being brought into line with the wider pension rules.
To understand why this exists, you have to go back one step. The explanatory note says earlier regulations, S.I. 2026/346, expanded the Local Government Pension Scheme so elected members of local authorities in England, especially mayors and members of combined county authorities, could be covered. Once that bigger change was made, smaller follow-up edits were needed in the legal documents for individual authorities. That is where the phrase 'consequential amendment' matters. **What this means:** one law changes first, then related laws are adjusted so everything matches. This instrument is one of those follow-up adjustments. It makes sure the Sussex and Brighton Combined County Authority is treated the same way as other combined authorities rather than being left with older wording.
The actual amendment is short. In the Sussex and Brighton Combined County Authority Regulations 2026, the heading for paragraph 7 is changed from one about remuneration to one about 'remuneration and pensions'. New wording is then added so that when the authority pays a 'relevant allowance', that allowance is treated as pensionable under the public service pension scheme. The law also draws a clear line around what counts. Travel and subsistence are excluded. So if an elected member receives an allowance connected to doing the role, that payment can count towards pension arrangements. If the payment is simply to cover travel or subsistence costs, it does not.
This affects two groups directly. First, it affects elected members in the Sussex and Brighton Combined County Authority who receive these allowances. Second, it affects the authority itself, because the regulation says it must make the payments required in respect of the pension linked to those allowances. That employer responsibility is important. Pension rights do not just appear because a payment is called pensionable; someone also has to make the matching contributions and fund the benefit properly. So this is partly about fairness for elected members, and partly about making the accounting and payroll side work in a consistent way.
There is also a timing detail behind the change. The explanatory note says the Sussex and Brighton Combined County Authority Regulations 2026, S.I. 2026/362, were laid before Parliament but made after the earlier 2026 pension regulations had already been made. That left a legal loose end. This new instrument ties it up. **Why this matters:** even a small gap in drafting can leave one public body operating under different rules from everyone else. If that happened, two people doing similar elected jobs in different places could find that one set of allowances counted towards pension rights and the other did not. This amendment is designed to stop that mismatch before the new authority settles into its normal way of working.
The formal process matters too. The regulation says the Secretary of State used powers under the Public Service Pensions Act 2013, consulted people likely to be affected, and made the rule with Treasury consent. It also states that no impact assessment was produced because no significant effect is expected on the private or voluntary sectors. The simplest takeaway is this: from 11 May 2026, most non-travel allowances paid to elected members in the Sussex and Brighton Combined County Authority will count towards pension arrangements under the Local Government Pension Scheme rules. It is a small legal amendment, but it is a good reminder that public policy is often built in stages: a big rule first, then a quieter correction to make sure nobody is accidentally missed.