Voters reject Reeves’ plans for state power on pension investments
A majority of British voters oppose the government having powers to dictate pension fund investments, fresh polling has revealed, in a blow to Rachel Reeves’ attempts to use pension pot funds to boost growth.
Three in five voters disagree with government influence over pension fund investments, according to a City PM and Freshwater Strategies poll – a clear warning as Labour advances reforms targeting both defined contribution (DC) and defined benefit (DB) schemes.
The government’s new pension reforms aim to use several government-backed megafunds to consolidate defined contribution (DC) schemes and encourage them to invest more in UK assets.
The Pension Schemes Bill, introduced on Thursday, focuses on six key areas, including giving the government a “reserve” power to force pension schemes to invest in the UK and a new mechanism for merging smaller, defined pots.
But Labour’s proposals have come under fire after analysis from the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) revealed just £11bn could be realistically extracted over a decade – falling dramatically short of the sum the Treasury had hoped to strum up and marking a crushing blow to Reeves’ growth agenda.
The analysis also revealed plans to allow employers to remove “surplus” cash from DB schemes, which are long-term retirement funds set up to pay a former worker’s guaranteed income, could leave millions at risk of being underfunded.
Younger generations losing faith in State Pension
City PM and Freshwater polling also revealed a spike in concerns that State Pension accessibility would dramatically reduce.
Four in five respondents worry they won’t be able to get State Pension or it would reduce in value when they become eligible.
Concerns mounted among younger generations with nearly half of 18 to 34 year-olds not expecting the State Pension to exist by the time they retire.
Meanwhile, 49 per cent of respondents agreed the government would have to lift the State Pension age within the next few years, whilst just 27 per cent disagreed.
Method note: Freshwater Strategy interviewed n=1,250 eligible voters in the UK, aged 18+ online, between 6-8 June 2025. Margin of Error +/- 2.8%. Data are weighted to be representative of UK voters.