The Pensions Management Institute (PMI) and the Society of Pension Professionals (SPP) are calling on the government to revise the Pension Schemes Bill, warning that the proposed ‘mandation power’ could undermine trustees’ autonomy and members’ interests.
The SPP president, Sophia Singleton and the PMI chief strategy officer, Helen Forrest Hall, are giving evidence to parliament’s Pension Schemes Bill Committee today. Both organisations support the Bill’s aims to improve transparency, governance, and member outcomes, but they have expressed serious concern over provisions that would allow the government to mandate pension scheme investments.
They argue that such powers “represent a fundamental shift in the UK pensions framework – one that risks undermining trustee independence, distorting investment strategy, and eroding member confidence.”
The PMI and SPP caution that if the government starts directing pension scheme investments, it could disrupt markets, erode public trust, and make it harder for trustees to put members first. They warn that political interference sets a worrying precedent despite the benefit of larger-scale investment.
The organisations call for the provision to be removed or, if retained, for robust safeguards such as exemptions, notice periods, and transitional protections.
Singleton says: “The mandation power will have a negative effect on market pricing and could undermine public trust given scheme members or those thinking of saving in a pension may worry that saver returns are no longer the main priority.
“Trustees must retain the autonomy to act in members’ best interests, informed by pension scheme-specific circumstances, not political imperatives.”
Forrest Hall says: “The PMI supports the principle that scale can deliver better outcomes for members but this power sets a troubling precedent for political interference in trustees’ fiduciary duties, undermines long-term investment planning, and risks distorting markets.
“We would argue that this provision has no place in this Bill and should be removed. If it remains, additional safeguards, such as safe harbours, clear exemptions, notice periods and transitional protections need to be placed on the face of the Bill.”