IPE UK Briefing: House of Lords votes to remove ‘mandation’ clause from Pension Schemes Bill

After a long campaign by the UK pensions industry for the government to remove the ‘mandation’ clause from the Pension Schemes Bill, it seems the government has finally listened.

At the beginning of March, during his keynote speech at a Pensions UK conference, pensions minister Torsten Bell said the government will ensure the reserve power in the Bill is only used to “backstop” Mansion House Accord goals, which calls for providers to allocate 10% of a default to private markets, with 5% of that specifically directed to UK private markets, by 2030.

The minister said the clause will be amended as legislation enters its final phases in the House of Lords but has not provided additional details. It is clear, however, that the UK government does not intend to remove the sunset clause from the Bill, which currently extends beyond the current government, potentially allowing a different government to use the powers if they remain as they are within the Bill.

Another win for the industry came as the House of Lords voted to scrap ‘mandation’ powers from the Bill by 217 to 113. While this does not necessarily mean the ‘mandation’ clause will be removed from the Bill, it pushes for further consideration from the House of Commons.  

During the same sitting, the members of the upper parliament also voted to insert a safeguard into the UK government’s push to consolidate the DC market, backing an amendment allowing regulators to waive scale requirements where consolidation cannot be shown to improve member outcomes.

The Bill will now return to the House of Commons, where members of parliament will reconsider the scope of the provisions.  

Collective defined contribution

The Pensions Regulator (TPR) published its code of practice last month, prompting calls to fine-tune its collective defined contribution (CDC) rules to reduce remaining uncertainty. More providers have expressed interest in the proposition.

This included the Church of England Pension Board (CEPB) confirming it is exploring the scope for a hybrid scheme that draws on features of both defined contribution (DC) and defined benefit (DB) pensions.

CEPB has previously expressed an interest in seeing how a multi-employer CDC scheme could work back in 2024, following the successful launch of the Royal Mail CDC scheme in October 2024.

While not making a firm commitment to launch a CDC solution, Muntazir Hadadi, head of pensions at First Bus, said the UK’s largest transport operator is watching the development of CDC “with interest”.

Building on the momentum for CDC, earlier this month, the UK’s pensions minister confirmed that a retirement-only CDC scheme would be introduced this year following the government’s consultation last October. The authorisation by TPR is expected to follow in 2027/28.

Following this, Lifesight confirmed its intention to launch a retirement CDC solution as soon as the UK regulatory framework allows.

PRT market  

All insurers participating in the UK pension risk transfer (PRT) market have published their annual results last month, showing a record-breaking 367 buy-ins totalling £38.2bn in 2025, with L&G as market leader by volume at £10.2bn and a 27% market share.

Next was Pension Insurance Corporation with £6.8bn in volume and 18% market share, Rothesay with £5.2bn and 14% market share and Aviva with £4.6bn and 12% market share.

Just Group and Standard Life also each wrote over £3bn of buy-ins in 2025, accounting for 8% and 10% market shares, respectively. The same six insurers dominated the market in 2024, writing over £5bn each last year. 

Items to note:

• The Impact Investor Forum 2026 is taking place on 14 May at The Conduit London.

Pamela Kokoszka

UK Correspondent