Too many local authority pension funds are disguising poor practice and inefficiencies the outgoing head of the body overseeing the creation of new pension arrangements from next year has warned.

In his valedictory letter this week, Cllr Roger Phillips, chairman of the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) 2014 project board which was set up two years ago to redesign the £145bn LGPS and its 98 funds in England and Wales said: 'While some funds are exemplary there are too many pension funds that seem to wrap themselves in technical messages, apparent professional complexities indifferent to scheme employers/members and disguising poor practice.