Pension industry poised to shift focus from cost to value as ‘Pound for Pound’ initiative unveiled

Government, regulators and leading pension providers came together for a roundtable (Tuesday, 22 July 2025), demonstrating the sector’s shared ambition to deliver better outcomes for savers through a joined-up approach to Value for Money (VFM).
 
The event marked the first public discussion of the ‘Pound for Pound’ (‘£4£’) initiative[1] – a pilot group of providers brought together by People’s Pension, which includes Aviva, Smart Pension, TPT Retirement Solutions, L&G and NatWest Cushon, and supported by Australian firm SuperRatings[2]. The initiative will explore how the UK pensions market can move beyond cost-based comparisons and instead assess performance through broader value-based metrics, understanding the practicalities of a process that will shift market conversations away from cost towards value. This is essential for the success of the Government’s proposed approach laid out in the Pension Schemes Bill 2025.
 
Hosted by the Minister for Pensions, Torsten Bell MP and chaired by People’s Pension CEO Patrick Heath-Lay and Emma Douglas, Wealth Policy Director, Aviva, the roundtable included[3], the FCA, DWP, Pensions UK and a number of the Mansion House Accord[4] signatories, including the £4£ Pilot group and Kirby Rappell, CEO of SuperRatings. Insights from Australia’s superannuation system were central to the session – highlighting how clear benchmarking, transparency and regulatory oversight have transformed member outcomes and understanding of value in Australia. The UK’s £4£ pilot draws on these lessons, providing anonymised benchmarking reports to UK schemes and assessing how qualitative and quantitative data can be used to meaningfully assess value.
 
Participants at the roundtable agreed that now is the time to collaborate with Government, regulators and the wider industry all needing to play their part in defining and embedding a robust and fit for purpose VFM regime. Intended to inform the impending regulatory consultation on VFM metrics, the discussion focused on how lessons from Australia and insights from providers could inform regulatory thinking and support the development of the Pension Schemes Bill.
 
Patrick Heath-Lay, CEO of People’s Partnership, said: “The Government’s drive to evolve the pensions market and centre it on value is a significant step change.  As a pension provider, shining a light on how we ‘measure up’ on value in a transparent and consistent way is a major shift but one that we must all rightly embrace. This needs to be introduced in a well-planned and effective manner that aligns to Government reforms, enables effective regulatory oversight and most importantly instils greater confidence in the pension system for savers. We set up the £4£ initiative to help inform this shift in focus from cost to value, and we are really encouraged by the shared appetite to collaborate and support this fundamental market change.”
 
Emma Douglas, Wealth Policy Director at Aviva, said:
“Getting the value for money framework right is an essential part of shifting the focus in workplace pensions from cost to value. The Pound for Pound initiative gives us the opportunity to test the key metrics in advance and to learn from this, as well as from the Australian experience.”
 
Zoe Alexander, Director of Policy and Advocacy at Pensions UK, said: “Getting value for money for UK savers is a key driver for the UK pensions industry. The Pensions Schemes Bill will introduce new requirements across much of the sector. We know measuring it is complex. We need clarity and evidence to establish the most effective data points for this new framework to ensure savers get the biggest bang for their buck, and to avoid excessive red-tape reporting. Though no system is perfect, there’s a lot to learn from our colleagues in Australia about their value for money outcomes regime and we look forward to testing this in the UK context.”
 
ENDS