Written question asked by Callum Anderson (Labour) on Monday, 13 July 2026, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 15 July 2026. It was answered by Torsten Bell (Labour) on Monday, 20 July 2026 on behalf of the Department for Work and Pensions.

Pensions

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department has undertaken international comparisons of pension value-for-money assessment frameworks.

Answer

DWP has explored international evidence, in particular undertaking comparisons with the Australian value for money (VFM) regime. The Pension Schemes Act 2026 Impact Assessment included evidence about annual performance tests in Australia’s superannuation system which are credited with increasing the net returns and decreasing the fees paid by millions of members.

Additionally, the UK VFM framework has, for example, been deliberately designed to avoid the investment herding behaviours that have emerged in Australia’s system, using learnings from the Department’s engagement with Australian officials to understand the challenges they faced. We continue to learn from the Australian experience of VFM in designing the UK VFM framework.

Secondary information

Type: Written question
Reference: 18313
Session: 2026-27
Subjects: Cost effectiveness Pensions
Link: View this Written question on www.parliament.uk

Pensions

Secondary information

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