The Pension Schemes Bill

Preparing for change in the UK

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The Pension Schemes Bill: Preparing for change in the UK

The Pension Schemes Bill was first published on 5 June 2025. It continues its passage through Parliament and could receive Royal Assent in April or May 2026. (Consideration of amendments, the last stage before Royal Assent, is scheduled to begin on 15 April 2026.)

The Bill will introduce a series of reforms to defined benefit (DB) schemes and sections, to defined contribution (DC) schemes and sections, and to the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS).

A workplace pensions roadmap published alongside the Bill in June 2025 gave indicative timings for when key reforms might take effect. It also listed and gave likely timings for some other workstreams and developments.

Pension scheme trustees and employers need to:

Understand which of the changes in the Bill and roadmap will affect them;
Plan for those changes;
(In some cases) revisit existing plans; and
Follow developments.

This tracker gives an overview of what is changing, what stage each reform has reached and when each reform might take effect. Initial timings have been taken from the workplace pensions roadmap and various consultation responses. As each reform progresses, we are updating the tracker.*

The tracker is now up to date for key developments to 31 March 2026.

The Bill extends to England, Wales and Scotland, with some provisions amending legislation in Northern Ireland.

*The materials in this tracker are written and provided for general information purposes only. They are not intended and should not be used as a substitute for taking legal advice. Specific legal advice should be taken before acting on any of the topics covered. While we will update this tracker on a regular basis, there may be some delay between an announcement or development and an update being made.

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2025

DB and DC: Phase two of the government's pensions review and review of the state pension age

The government launched phase two of its pensions review and announced a third review of the state pension age on 21 July 2025.

Phase two of the pensions review will consider the long-term future of the pensions system, including pensions adequacy, and could lead to future reforms. It will be conducted by a (revived) Pensions Commission, which will deliver an interim report in spring 2026 and a final report in the first half of 2027.

Consultation on improving standards of trusteeship

The government launched a consultation on improving standards of trusteeship, governance and administration on 15 December 2025.

The Pensions Regulator also intends to release a strategy for improving standards.

Start to prepare for the DC 'main scale default arrangement' requirement

The main scale default requirement is expected to apply to DC master trusts and group contract-based schemes used for automatic enrolment from 2030.

The government has set out the steps it expects the trustees and providers of these schemes to take in the run up to 2030.

However, this change is also relevant to trustees and employers who are considering a move to a DC master trust or group contract-based scheme.

Next steps for CDC master trusts

In December 2025 the Pensions Regulator launched a consultation on a revised CDC code of practice to support the authorisation of "unconnected multiple employer" (UME) CDC schemes.

From summer 2026, the Pensions Regulator may be able to accept applications for authorisation to operate a UME CDC scheme (a CDC master trust or master trust section).