The UK's Pensions Minister, Emma Reynolds, has refused to rule out the option of mandating pension investments as part of the push to encourage greater pension investment in UK growth.

Asked by Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA) chief policy counsel, Nigel Peaple, whether the government was in favour of investment freedom and would avoid mandation, Reynolds said that "we're considering all options for now".

However, she emphasised that the government is not looking to "micromanage" pension scheme investments.

"We're considering all the options for now," she said. "But there will be some more clarity around this. I mean you are the professionals... you alll know about how to invest in a much broader range of assets than I will.

"So we're obviously not going to be micromanaging the decisions that pension schemes make on behalf of their members."

However, she argued that "there is quite a lot of potential to drive further investment into the UK", suggesting that driving more investment into private markets and infrastructure could help encourage this.

"I was speaking to a very senior person in the Australian pension landscape yesterday and she said to me that in her scheme, when they invest in infrastructure, that is generally closer to home anyway, because they want to have a much greater sight of what's happening with that infrastructure," she explained.

"So, I think the drive to private markets and more illiquid longer-term assets hopefully will go hand in hand with more investment in the UK."

Industry experts previously warned the government against potential mandating or legislating for particular investment allocations, stressing the importance of fiduciary duty, and the need for members to remain at the forefront.

Speaking at the PLSA Annual Conference, Reynolds also confirmed that the interim findings from the report are expected to be shared in ‘autumn’, with final recommendations from the review set to follow in 2025.

This article was originally published on our sister website, Pensions Age.

---