This week in pensions was a notable one, with the Labour MP for Swansea West, Torsten Bell, being appointed as Pensions Minister.

Bell replaced former Pensions Minister, Emma Reynolds, who was named Economic Secretary to the Treasury following the resignation of Tulip Siddiq.

The change in Pension Minister sparked hope in the industry for reviving “the necessary discussions about increasing auto-enrolment pension contributions”.

This week also saw another key update, as the consultations for the government's "radical" set of pension reforms came to a close.

industry experts have broadly welcomed the objectives behind the government's plans to introduce defined contribution (DC) megafunds, although concerns around the proposed approach, unintended consequences and "challenging" timelines have been raised.

Given these concerns, some have urged the government to consider alternative approaches, including calls to introduce a new ‘comply or explain’ regime for DC pension investments.

Support was also expressed for the government’s plans to improve the scale, governance, and investment of the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS), although concerns were again raised over accelerated timelines and potential conflicts of interest.

Broader industry updates were also seen, as research from Isio revealed that the aggregate funding level of the 87 participating LGPS funds in England and Wales reached a record high of 125 per cent at the end of 2024.

The Pension Protection Fund’s latest 7800 Index highlighted a nearly £10bn drop in the defined benefit (DB) pension surplus in December 2024.

Meanwhile, annuity rates surged in value at the start of 2025, according to Hargreaves Lansdown’s annuity search engine.

There were also several pieces of research released this week that provided stark insights, including analysis from the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association, which revealed that half of workplace pension savers have never considered raising contributions.

Legal & General research found that 21 per cent of people who withdrew a cash lump sum from their pension pot did so as soon as they turned 55, despite many not understanding the consequences of doing so.

Meanwhile, a Women Against State Pension Inequality (Waspi) poll showed that 74 per cent of people believe the government should deliver “fair compensation” to Waspi women, following confirmation that 3.6 million women affected by state pension age changes would not be compensated.

Inheritance tax (IHT) has also been in focus this week, with the Pensions Administration Standards Association called on the government to "take a step back" from its plans to bring pensions into the scope of IHT and plot a new way forward, following concerns that the current proposals could risk "forcing a round peg into a square hole".

Additionally, Charles Stanley Direct research raised concerns about retirement savings being “under threat” after the announcement that pensions will be subject to IHT from 2027.

This week also saw the Prudential Regulation Authority outline how it expects bulk purchase annuity insurers in the UK to manage increased growth and complexity in the market, including on the use of funded reinsurance.

In other news, Holophane Retirement Benefits Scheme completed a £24m buy-in with Pension Insurance Corporation, securing the pensions of 95 pensioners and dependants and 74 deferred scheme members.

This week also saw The People’s Pension announce plans to invest a "significant" proportion of the £31bn of assets it manages in private markets later this year, with a target of growing this allocation to 10 per cent, or £4bn, by 2030.

---