Unlocking UK pension potential: Surplus sharing and investment

There has been a lot of commentary around the potential for increased surplus access since the Mansion House proposals in 2023 and the Labour government has now announced its own plans to relax restrictions on access to surplus for defined benefit (DB) pension funds.  Here we provide a brief, five-point explainer on the topic.

We have been campaigning on surplus sharing flexibility as, in our view, this is a win-win-win for members, employers, and wider society – see our paper: Six changes to seize the DB pension surplus opportunity. Many DB funds have already taken the decision to defer insurance to build surplus and we believe many more funds will welcome the increased flexibility around surplus distribution that the government’s announcement promises.

Footnote

Source: The Pensions Regulator, January 2025 (data as at 30 September 2024). Return to article

Alasdair Macdonald

Head of Investment Strategy

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Ben Johnson

Managing Director, Investments

Ben Johnson is a Managing Director and sits on the GB Pensions Leadership Team within the Investments business. Ben works with a small number of DB and DC pension scheme clients across different governance models (e.g., advisory and delegated). Ben has overall responsibility for Growth and New Business within GB Pensions.