Workplace Pensions: Stocks and Shares

(asked on 15th December 2025) - View Source

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment it has made of the level of investments by open UK defined benefit schemes, including the Parliamentary Pension Scheme, into UK equities.


Answered by
Baroness Sherlock Portrait
Baroness Sherlock
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
This question was answered on 30th December 2025

Private sector defined benefit (DB) pension schemes which are open to new members allocate 42% of their assets to equities. However, this is not broken down by UK equities. See the PPF Purple Book for further detail: https://www.ppf.co.uk/-/media/PPF-Website/Public/Purple-Book-Data-2025/Pension-Protection-Fund-Purple-Book-2025-accessible.pdf

Public sector DB pension schemes are estimated to allocate around 9% of their assets to listed UK equities. See the Pension Policy Institute’s 2025 “Pension scheme assets” report: https://www.pensionspolicyinstitute.org.uk/media/i2cgonin/20250604-pension-scheme-assets-2025-final.pdf

The scheme trustees are responsible for the investment strategy of the Parliamentary Contributory Pension Fund and information on asset allocation is published in the scheme’s Annual Report and Accounts. These are published on the website of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority www.theipsa.org.uk/annual-reports.

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