Pension Schemes Bill

Richard Fuller Excerpts

Wednesday 15th April 2026 Commons Chamber

I have been clear that that is the only reason the reserve power exists. To reinforce that point, our amendments in lieu today spell out that the power can be used only to support the industry’s view of what is in savers’ interests, as laid out in the Mansion House accord. The majority of savers’ contributions are held by schemes that have signed up to that accord.

[Richard Fuller (North Bedfordshire) (Con)]

Then why worry?

[Torsten Bell]

I have just explained to the hon. Member why he should be worried. He is happy to carry on with the status quo; we are not.

We are going to set this out in two ways. First, we will specify on the face of the Bill that regulations under the reserve power cannot require more than 10% of assets to be held in qualifying assets overall or more than 5% in the UK—exactly matching the Mansion House commitments. Secondly, our amendments require any regulations to implement the reserve power to be entirely neutral between asset classes, spelling out that a future Government who took a different view from this one could not use the power to direct investments into hand-picked asset classes.

The existing safeguards in the Bill also remain: the time limit, the reporting requirements, the affirmative procedure, and—most importantly—the savers’ interest test that allows pension schemes not to deliver against the reserve power requirements where it is not in savers’ interests to do so.