The UK government, regulators and leading pension providers came together to inform the forthcoming value for money (VfM) consultation in a roundtable hosted by the nation’s pensions minister.
The roundtable saw first public discussion of the ‘Pound for Pound’ initiative – a pilot group of providers brought together by People’s Pension, which includes Aviva, Smart Pension, TPT Retirement Solutions, Legal & General (L&G) and NatWest Cushon, and supported by Australian firm SuperRatings.
The initiative aims to explore how the UK pensions market can move beyond cost-based comparisons and instead assess performance through broader value-based metrics, understanding the practicalities of a process that will shift market conversations away from cost towards value.
This, according to People’s Pension, is essential for the success of the government’s proposed approach laid out in the Pension Schemes Bill 2025.
The roundtable was hosted by the minister for pensions Torsten Bell, and chaired by People’s Pension chief executive officer Patrick Heath-Lay and Emma Douglas, wealth policy director at Aviva. It was attended by the Financial Conduct Authority, Department for Work and Pensions and a number of Mansion House Accord signatories as well as Kirby Rappell, CEO of SuperRatings.
The People’s Pension has stated that insights from Australia’s superannuation system were central to the session, highlighting how clear benchmarking, transparency and regulatory oversight have transformed member outcomes and understanding of value in Australia.
The UK’s ‘Pound for Pound’ pilot draws on these lessons, providing anonymised benchmarking reports to UK pension funds and assessing how qualitative and quantitative data can be used to meaningfully assess value, it said.
Value for money
Participants at the roundtable agreed that now is the time to collaborate with the government, regulators and the wider industry, all needing to play their part in defining and embedding a robust and fit-for-purpose VfM regime.
Intended to inform the impending regulatory consultation on VfM metrics, the discussion focused on how lessons from Australia and insights from providers could inform regulatory thinking and support the development of the Pension Schemes Bill.
Patrick Heath-Lay, CEO of People’s Partnership, said: “The government’s drive to evolve the pensions market and centre it on value is a significant step change. As a pension provider, shining a light on how we ‘measure up’ on value in a transparent and consistent way is a major shift, but one that we must all rightly embrace.”
Heath-Lay added that this needs to be introduced in a well-planned and effective manner that aligns with government reforms, enables effective regulatory oversight and, most importantly, instils greater confidence in the pension system for savers.
“We set up the Pound for Pound initiative to help inform this shift in focus from cost to value, and we are really encouraged by the shared appetite to collaborate and support this fundamental market change,” he continued.
Emma Douglas, wealth policy director at Aviva, added that getting the value for money framework right is an “essential” part of shifting the focus in workplace pensions from cost to value.
She continued: “The Pound for Pound initiative gives us the opportunity to test the key metrics in advance and to learn from this, as well as from the Australian experience.”
Zoe Alexander, director of policy and advocacy at Pensions UK, said that getting value for money for UK savers is a “key driver” for the UK pensions industry.
“The Pension Schemes Bill will introduce new requirements across much of the sector. We know measuring it is complex. We need clarity and evidence to establish the most effective data points for this new framework to ensure savers get the biggest bang for their buck, and to avoid excessive red-tape reporting,” she noted.
Alexander added that though no system is perfect, there’s a lot to learn from Australia their value for money outcomes regime. She said: “We look forward to testing this in the UK context.”
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