The upcoming Pensions Schemes Bill, expected to be released by the government before summer recess this year, is set to be "crammed to bursting with measures,” according to LCP partner and head of pensions research, David Everett.

Initially announced as part of the King’s Speech last July, the government said the new Pension Schemes Bill would legislate on several areas of pension policy, many of which were initiated under the previous Conservative government.

Speaking at the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA) Investment conference in March, Pensions Minister Torsten Bell confirmed that he intended to introduce the Pensions Bill in parliament before the summer recess.

Following further announcements and policy statements by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and other government bodies since, Everett suggested the bill would “affect everything from the largest defined benefit (DB) schemes to micro defined contribution (DC) pots created through automatic enrolment".

“Some of these measures, such as DB superfunds and consolidation of micro DC pots, have been in development for many years and are finally reaching the legislative stage,” he continued, “whilst other measures reflect much more recent thinking, particularly around DB surpluses and the creation of DC megafunds.”

However, Everett warned that it is important to remember that even when the bill becomes an act next year, there will still be a lot more secondary legislation needed to fill in the details of these high-level policies, warning that the pensions industry can expect to be “busy in dialogue” with the government on the fine details for years to come.

LCP identified two groups of measures that it expects to be included in the bill. The first is measures flagged at the time of the King’s Speech, including default decumulation, small pot consolidation, and the value-for-money framework.

The second covers more detailed ‘tidying up’ measures, such as establishing the Pensions Ombudsman as a competent court to conclude overpayment disputes where recoupment is sought, reversing the November 2023 Court of Appeal decision.

LCP also said it anticipated other legislation arising from subsequent policy initiatives included in the pensions review, new rules around DB surplus distribution, and loosened regulations on the Pension Protection Fund (PPF).

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