Speaking at the 2023 State Opening of Parliament this morning, the King did not mention any new pensions legislation to build on chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s Mansion House reforms announced earlier this year.

Reforms included the creation of the Mansion House Compact, alongside several consultations on issues such as defined benefit (DB) superfunds, deferred small pots, collective defined contribution and a value money for money framework.

‘Disappointed’

The pensions industry has aired its disappointment over the lack of mention of pensions in the monarch’s first King’s Speech.

Aegon pensions director Steven Cameron said he was “disappointed” there was no mention of a pensions bill in the speech, given it was likely to be the last parliamentary session before a general election and without a bill, “other routes” will need to be taken to advance these proposals.

“All eyes will now be on the chancellor’s Autumn Statement. While there’s no pensions bill to take these forward, we believe they remain government priorities and await clarity on next steps. We encourage the government to prioritise those initiatives with the greatest potential to boost retirement outcomes of individual members.”

Pensions Management Institute president Robert Wakefield also expressed disappointment and said the lack of a pensions bill meant there were a number of issues that remained “unresolved”, with “no prospect” of resolving them before the next general election which is expected in 2024.

“Perhaps the most pressing unresolved issue at this time is the problem of finding an effective mechanism for the consolidation of small DB pension schemes.

“We were delighted to learn that Clara has finally completed its first deal and will take over the Sears scheme. However, it still remains unclear as to how public sector schemes might be consolidated. Speculation that the Pension Protection Fund might be used as a consolidator remains unaddressed, and this is now unlikely to be resolved for at least another 12 months.”

Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA) director of policy and advocacy Nigel Peaple added while the absence of a pensions bill from the speech means there’s no “statutory basis” for the measures, the PLSA expects the government and regulators to drive forward the proposed reforms via secondary legislation or guidance.

“While the absence of a pensions bill in the King’s Speech does mean we won’t have a statutory basis for some of these initiatives, we do expect the government and regulators to continue to pursue these objectives through guidance and standard setting.”

He continued: “Although it is disappointing that the government did not include a pensions bill in today’s announcements, its absence will mean more time can be allocated to ensuring any reforms are well designed after in-depth consultation with the pensions sector. The PLSA looks forward to feeding into such work as it arises.

“Finally, we still believe it very likely that the government soon will take more action on pensions, this time in the context of UK growth, at the forthcoming Autumn Statement. The PLSA recently proposed six necessary policy and regulatory reforms aimed at providing support to pension funds that wish to invest more in UK growth assets.”

PensionBee director of public affairs Becky O’Connor said the omission of a pensions bill in the speech signalled the Mansion House proposals “set the direction” of travel for pension reforms but “lack a substantial commitment” as to how these reforms will be implemented.

“Following the upcoming general election, the incoming government will encounter a myriad of crucial decisions, where neglecting attention to pensions poses the danger of leaving pivotal reform issues unaddressed, perpetuating a stage of limbo in pension policies.”

‘Pedicabs beat pensions’

Broadstone head of policy David Brooks noted the lack of mention of the Mansion House reforms in the speech meant “pedicabs beat pensions”.

“With the Autumn Statement on the horizon, focus now shifts to Jeremy Hunt’s announcement in a couple of weeks to see how the sprawling package of reforms will proceed. With rumours around DB surpluses beginning to emerge as well as the existing raft of policy changes mooted on investment, consolidators, superfunds and small pots it would be peculiar if pensions were ignored again come 22 November.”

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