More than 20 large UK employers have pledged to maximise employee pension value by prioritising retirement outcomes for their workforces when choosing or reviewing pension providers.
The voluntary Employer Pension Pledge is led by Alastair King, the Lord Mayor of London, with employers and pension industry experts. It is aligned with the principles of the government’s value-for-money framework.
Its aim is to change the UK’s pension investment culture to a value-for-money approach rather than cost-focused, and to drive transparency around the level of investment in private assets from pension providers.
It is also committed to facilitating a greater level of training to ensure adequate knowledge and understanding of the potential benefits from an allocation to private markets as part of a diversified portfolio.
Signatories include Aberdeen Group, Aviva, BT, Canada Life UK, First Group, Goldman Sachs, Legal and General, London Stock Exchange, M&G, Nationwide Building Society, Natwest Group, Octopus Energy, Octopus Investments, Phoenix Group, Samworth Brothers, Santander, Schroders, Standard Chartered, Tata Steel UK, and Tesco.
The pledge will be signed by the Lord Mayor at the Mansion House financial and professional services dinner. It has also received support from Pensions UK, the Association of British Insurers (ABI) and the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB).
King said: “Employers have always played a decisive, if underappreciated, role in shaping retirement outcomes. This pledge is about making that role visible, responsible, and focused on value. The pledge harnesses the convening power of the City of London Corporation in support of growth and shared prosperity across the UK. I am grateful to the major employers who have helped lay the foundations of the pledge.
“In the months ahead, I look forward to welcoming many more organisations, large and small, to join the existing signatories. This is an example of the mayoralty working across the entire pension investment value chain to deliver better outcomes for savers.”
Torsten Bell, Pensions Minister, added: “Workers rightly want their pension savings to work harder for them, ensuring they get the maximum bang for every buck saved. It is normally employers, not employees, who choose which pension scheme workers are invested in. So, I welcome this pledge to encourage employers to focus on what matters most to their workers: how fast pension pots grow.”
