An Overview of the Pensions Policy Agenda in the United Kingdom

Abstract

The UK pensions system has been under political scrutiny since the change of government in mid-July 2024 and the initiation of a two-part pensions review. The first part of the review focused on growth, particularly UK investment, and changes have been proposed in a Pension Schemes Bill submitted to Parliament in June 2025. Part two of the pensions review will focus on adequacy and commenced in July 2025. This article outlines some of the features of the UK pensions system and provides a comparison with similar elements of the pensions landscape in Aotearoa New Zealand. It finds differences as well as similarities in the state pension and occupational pension and KiwiSaver policy settings, along with policy-setting changes that have been proposed to increase retirement savings but remain unactioned. The article also outlines the pending changes arising from the government’s growth agenda in the UK, and considers the similarities and differences with investment approaches in Aotearoa New Zealand.