---
title: "003325 - Preliminary Market Engagement (PME) for a Pensions Administration System"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-06fa8a"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-06fa8a"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06fa8a.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06fa8a.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Planning"
buyer: "Durham County Council"
published: "2026-09-15"
---

# 003325 - Preliminary Market Engagement (PME) for a Pensions Administration System

Buyer: Durham County Council  
Current stage: Planning  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-06fa8a

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## Summary

Durham County Council Pension Fund is exploring a modern, secure and fully integrated Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) administration system. The solution is intended to support pension services for scheme members and participating employers, improve member and employer engagement, increase automation, strengthen data quality, and maintain compliance with legislative and regulatory requirements. The procurement concerns industry-specific software (CPV 48100000), together with the associated solution capability and implementation approach. Delivery will support the Fund in Durham. Suppliers are expected to explain their products, implementation models, innovation, product roadmaps and experience in the LGPS sector. The buying organisation is Durham County Council, acting for the Pension Fund.

This is a preliminary market engagement at the planning stage, rather than an invitation to tender. Durham County Council is using supplier responses to understand the market, inform its future procurement strategy and shape requirements for a later procurement exercise. The anticipated contract is for 1 April 2028 to 31 March 2032, with renewal and a possible maximum extension to 31 March 2036. The estimated value is £1,600,000 excluding VAT and £1,920,000 including VAT. Written engagement responses are expected by 12 noon on 2 October 2026. Interested providers must register on the Open Portal to access and submit the questions. The planned procurement is above the applicable threshold and is currently described as one lot.

This engagement will suit suppliers of LGPS pension administration platforms, including software providers and specialist implementation partners with demonstrable local-government pensions experience. Strong candidates will be able to provide a secure, integrated and modern system, supported by practical implementation and migration planning. Relevant capability includes member and employer self-service, workflow automation, data-quality improvement, integration with existing systems, reporting, and support for legislative and regulatory compliance. Suppliers should be ready to describe current innovation, product development roadmaps and how their solutions can improve engagement and operational efficiency. The exercise is also relevant to businesses that can contribute specialist insight into future requirements, even if they would later compete as part of a wider delivery team. It is preparation for a future procurement, not a bid opportunity now.

## Notice

Durham County Council Pension Fund (the Fund) is exploring the market for a modern, secure and fully integrated Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) administration solution to support the delivery of pension services to members and participating employers. The Fund is seeking to understand the capabilities currently available within the market and how technology can support the administration of the LGPS, improve member and employer engagement, increase automation, enhance data quality and ensure ongoing compliance with legislative and regulatory requirements. This Preliminary Market Engagement exercise is intended to inform the Fund's future procurement strategy and help shape detailed requirements for any subsequent procurement exercise. Suppliers are invited to provide information on their solutions, implementation approaches, innovation, product roadmaps and experience within the LGPS sector. Interested providers can access the written response questions, free of charge, by registering on the Open Portal at www.open-uk.org The deadline for completed responses is Friday 2nd October 2026 at 12 noon.

### Planning Information

Interested providers can access the written response questions, free of charge, by registering on the Open Portal at www.open-uk.org 
Deadline for written submissions, via the Open Portal, is Friday 2nd October 2026 at 12 noon.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/087492-2026 |
| Notice type | UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice |
| Procurement type | Standard |
| Procurement category | Goods |
| Procurement method | Not Specified |
| Procurement method details | Not specified |
| Tender suitability | Not specified |
| Awardee scale | Not specified |
| All stages | Planning |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 15 Sep 2026 |
| Submission deadline | Not specified |
| Future notice date | Not specified |
| Award date | Not specified |
| Contract period | 1 Apr 2028 - 31 Mar 2032 |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | £1,600,000 |
| Lots value | Not specified |
| Awards value | Not specified |
| Contracts value | Not specified |

## Status

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender status | Planning |
| Lots status | Planning |
| Awards status | Not specified |
| Contracts status | Not specified |

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | Durham County Council |
| Locality | DURHAM |
| Postcode area | Durham |
| Postcode | DH1 5WB |
| Country | England |
| ITL 1 | TLC North East (England) |
| ITL 2 | TLC4 Northumberland, Durham and Tyne & Wear |
| ITL 3 | TLC41 Durham |
| Local authority | County Durham |
| Electoral ward | Framwellgate & Newton Hall |
| Westminster constituency | City of Durham |
| Delivery location | TLC14 Durham |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 48 - Software package and information systems

### Codes

- 48100000 - Industry specific software package

## Release History

- 15 Sep 2026 at 16:48 - Planning - UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/087492-2026

## Documents

- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/087492-2026
  15th September 2026 - Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender

## Notice URLs

- http://www.durham.gov.uk/
- https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2023/54/contents

## Provenance

This Markdown file is an alternate public rendering of the D3 Tenders contract record. The canonical page is https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-06fa8a. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06fa8a.json.