Pensions Weekly Update – 21 October 2025

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Here is our weekly summary of key legal and regulatory developments relevant to occupational pension schemes that you might have missed, with links for further information.

While no date has been set for when the public bill committee will report back to the House of Commons on the Pension Schemes Bill, there are currently 30 amendments proposed to the bill. None of those amendments has been proposed by the government, so it remains to be seen which, if any, will be incorporated into the bill at a later stage.
The government has published a consultation on the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) with proposals to improve access and protections. The consultation covers four key areas: (1) increasing normal minimum pension age to 57, (2) introducing access to the LGPS for councillors and mayors, (3) proposals in relation to academies to put criteria regarding applications for directions into legislation, as well as to remove secretary of state consent where all criteria are met and (4) proposals to implement Fair Deal protections in the LGPS to ensure continued access to the LGPS for outsourced workers. The consultation is accompanied by draft regulations relating to access for councillors and mayors, draft new Fair Deal regulations and a draft updated Best Value Direction. Consultation closes at 11:59 p.m. on 22 December 2025.
The Association of British Insurers (ABI) has published a progress update in relation to the Mansion House Compact, which was launched in 2023, and is a voluntary industry-led initiative supported by 11 major pension providers and the City of London Corporation. This is different to the Mansion House Accord that launched in May 2025. The ABI is responsible for monitoring progress of the compact. It has reported that investments in unlisted equities held through defined contribution (DC) default funds has doubled since last year, growing from £800 million to £1.6 billion.
Separately, in a continued drive for investment in productive finance, the government has announced that a new investor-led partnership between 20 of the UK’s largest pension funds and insurers, referred to as the Sterling 20, was established at the Regional Investment Summit in Birmingham on 21 October. The government says that the Sterling 20 will work with the government and City of London Corporation “to channel the nation’s savings into key infrastructure and fast-growing businesses in key modern industrial strategy sectors like AI and fintech”.
Join our Labour & Employment colleagues at a webinar being held on 19 November, when they will look at the final form of the Employment Rights Bill and what it means for businesses.