It was another busy week in pensions as the week kicked off with the Pension Schemes Bill returning to parliament for its second reading.

Pensions Minister, Torsten Bell, suggested that the pace of pension reform is now “ramping up”, after the bill was first laid in parliament last month (June), covering several measures that are expected to help "transform" the pensions landscape and provide a boost for member outcomes.

The bill has received wide support from the industry, but several key concerns have been raised over the past month.

And these concerns were also raised in the second reading itself, with key concerns raised by MPs including issues with the mandation provision, defined benefit (DB) safeguarding, and the lack of measures to address pension adequacy.

MPs are not the only ones with concerns, as Bank of England governor, Andrew Bailey, also cautioned that the government's proposed power to influence investment decisions within defined contribution (DC) pension schemes would not be "appropriate” and require “a lot of heavy lifting".

But there has been hope for further changes to address the pension adequacy concerns raised by both MPs and industry, as Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, is reportedly expected to announce the launch of the second phase of the pensions review, focusing on pensions adequacy, at her Mansion House speech later this month.

In anticipation of this, industry experts have been keen to share their recommendations for the review, with several industry experts urging the government to take “bold action” in the upcoming pension adequacy review.

This week also saw growing scrutiny of the sustainability of the state pension, fuelled by the Office for Budget Responsibility’s forecast that the triple lock will cost £15.5bn annually by 2029-30 - three times higher than initially expected.

In response to this forecast, industry professionals have called on the government to conduct a formal review of state pension uprating and its adequacy, to determine a “fair and financially viable” future path.

In addition to this, this week saw The Pensions Regulator announce plans to work with industry stakeholders, advisers, and professional bodies to develop and test a voluntary net-zero transition plan template that is fit for occupational pension schemes.

Progress on pensions dashboards was also seen, Bell confirmed at a Pensions Dashboards Programme (PDP) Town Hall event that the state pension has now successfully completed its connection to the pensions dashboards ecosystem.


At the same time, the pensions sector is making strides in digital innovation, particularly on pensions dashboards.

In a positive step forward, Bell confirmed at a Pensions Dashboards Programme (PDP) Town Hall event attended by Pensions Age that the state pension has now successfully completed its connection to the pensions dashboards ecosystem.

Speaking at the PDP Town Hall event, Bell also reiterated the government's commitment to private sector pensions dashboards.

This week also saw continued support for the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) Targeted Support proposals, with a survey from Nucleus suggesting it is a "valuable opportunity" to engage with underserved groups, demonstrate to people that advice may be an option to consider at the appropriate time and promote greater financial inclusion.

Meanwhile, a report from the Standard Life Centre for the Future of Retirement revealed that consumers welcomed the potential of targeted support to provide more relevant help with retirement income decisions, greater direction, and the filtering out of information that isn't relevant.

Elsewhere in the DB space, the Pension Protection Fund reported an increase in the aggregate surplus of DB schemes from £221.1bn to £230.5bn in June due to positive returns.

LCP’s latest Pensions Explorer also showed that the funding level for the FTSE100 companies’ DB UK pension schemes remained "strong" at over £50bn in June, while XPS Group's research showed that DB funding levels remained "extremely positive" despite slight fall in June.

---