UK pension assets managed by Investment Association (IA) members rose 13 per cent to around £2.2trn in 2025, according to the IA's annual Investment Management Survey.

The survey found that while UK pension fund assets managed by its members increased from just under £2trn in 2024, pension schemes continued to account for 51 per cent of institutional mandates.

Overall, IA members managed £4.4trn in UK institutional client assets globally at the end of 2025, up by 14 per cent from £3.8trn in 2024 and approaching the previous £4.6trn peak.

The wider UK pensions market was estimated at around £3.6trn at the end of 2025, up 3 per cent from a revised £3.5trn in 2024.

Within this, workplace defined contribution (DC) assets stood at £665bn, up 40 per cent over the previous five years, while defined benefit (DB) pension scheme assets stabilised at about £1.6trn after several years of decline.

The IA noted that the long-term transition from DB to DC was changing both the types of assets held by pension schemes and the products required by savers, with DC schemes typically holding greater equity exposure than mature DB schemes.

Retirement income was also identified as a growing opportunity for asset managers as more savers move from accumulation to decumulation.

Total decumulation assets increased from £620bn in 2024 to £700bn in 2025, according to the survey, including almost £400bn backing individual annuities.

Meanwhile, assets held in income drawdown increased by 18 per cent to £310bn.

The IA argued that industry leaders viewed the changing retirement market as a significant long-term opportunity, both in how retirement assets are invested and in the development of products capable of delivering sustainable income.

IA chief executive, John Owen, said: “The way people save for retirement is changing. As shown by this year’s Investment Management Survey, individuals are increasingly responsible for making important decisions about how they invest for their future and turn those savings into an income in retirement.

“That makes it more important than ever that people have the confidence to invest for the long term.”

Owen also highlighted IA polling showing that 38 per cent of UK adults believed changing pensions policy made it harder to plan for their future.

“Government must reckon with this and provide the pensions policy stability needed to help savers to invest for the long term and make informed decisions about their retirement,” he continued.

“As the UK’s society ages, a strong and trusted private pensions system will be critical to helping us to live a financially secure retirement.”

Meanwhile, DB assets remained broadly stable at around £1.6trn in 2025, compared with £2.3trn in 2021, reflecting the longer-term maturation and de-risking of the private-sector DB market.

Insurance assets have moved in the opposite direction, with the IA noting that assets managed for insurance clients had grown by 15 per cent since 2022 to £1.1trn, consistent with sustained pension risk transfer activity as DB schemes move liabilities to insurers.

The Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) has also continued to expand, with total assets rising from around £276bn in 2020 to just over £400bn in 2025, an increase of 46 per cent.

Around £350bn of LGPS assets were managed by IA members during 2025, according to the survey.

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