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    Insight’s response to the DWP consultation on DB schemes

    Insight’s response to the DWP consultation on DB schemes

    24 April 2024 Solutions

    UK defined benefit (DB) pension schemes are exceptionally effective savings vehicles and their current strong funding status enables them to provide long-term financial security to millions of members.

    No other regime can fully match the advantages of strong and well-managed DB schemes. Alongside serving their members’ interests, corporate sponsors can benefit from effective management and sharing of pension surpluses; the UK economy benefits from DB schemes’ investments in gilts and UK financial markets; and schemes could play an even more significant role across a broad spectrum of productive assets. DB schemes represent c.£1.4trn of assets and have accrued surpluses in excess of £225bn. The right incentives and protections for members could release a significant proportion of this as soon as the next 12-24 months. This would be a meaningful cash injection for members and sponsors and generate significant tax revenues for the UK in the process.

    A well-coordinated policy response could unlock these significant benefits. We offer here our full response to the consultation, opened in early 2024 by the UK Department of Work and Pensions, on related issues.

    Read a summary of our response to the consultation

    Read our final response to the consultation

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