To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the relationship between pension scheme size and member investment outcomes in defined contribution workplace pension schemes.

Evidence suggests there are a range of benefits to schemes achieving a greater level of scale through greater assets under management. This includes better governance, economies of scale, increased diversification of assets and improved bargaining power.

A growing number of research papers and evidence suggest a greater number of benefits can arise at £25 billion to £50 billion (or greater) of assets under management, as set out in the Department for Work and Pensions’ November 2024 publication “Pension fund investment and the UK economy” paper. The report can be found here: Pension fund investment and the UK economy - GOV.UK. Increased net returns via lower charges for members and higher net investment returns through diversification, both evidenced as being more possible through scale, can be expected to drive improved member outcomes. This evidence is set out in the Pension Schemes Act Impact Assessment published in December 2025. The Impact Assessment can be found here: Impact Assessment.

Impact Assessment (pdf, 5823.4KB)

pension fund investment and the UK economy (pdf, 889.8KB)