UK State Pensions are payable worldwide, without regard to nationality, and are only uprated abroad where there is a legal requirement to do so, for example in countries with which we have a reciprocal agreement that provides for uprating. There are no plans to change this policy.

National Insurance contributions and credits determine whether, and at what level, a person is entitled to State Pension. They do not determine whether a State Pension paid overseas is uprated each year. Overseas uprating depends on the country in which the pensioner lives and whether the UK has a legal basis for uprating there.

Uprating is based on levels of earnings growth and price inflation in the UK which has no direct relevance where the pensioner is resident overseas.

This approach has been supported by successive governments, over many years with priority given to those living in the UK when drawing up expenditure plans for pensioner benefits, and this policy has been upheld in courts.

Information about the impact on State Pensions of moving abroad is available on Gov.uk.

UK State Pensions are payable worldwide, without regard to nationality, and are only uprated abroad where there is a legal requirement to do so, for example in countries with which we have a reciprocal agreement that provides for uprating. There are no plans to change this policy.

National Insurance contributions and credits determine whether, and at what level, a person is entitled to State Pension. They do not determine whether a State Pension paid overseas is uprated each year. Overseas uprating depends on the country in which the pensioner lives and whether the UK has a legal basis for uprating there.

Uprating is based on levels of earnings growth and price inflation in the UK which has no direct relevance where the pensioner is resident overseas.

This approach has been supported by successive governments, over many years with priority given to those living in the UK when drawing up expenditure plans for pensioner benefits, and this policy has been upheld in courts.

Information about the impact on State Pensions of moving abroad is available on Gov.uk.

The Government recognises that engagement with pensions is low, particularly as many savers engage only intermittently with their pension arrangements and may find pensions and retirement decisions complex. And while auto-enrolment has successfully increased pension participation, too many future retirees face incomes that are too low, risks that are too high and a system that is too unequal.

That is why we are transforming the workplace pensions market, with reforms including measures to drive scale provision, Value for Money and default pensions as well as the introduction of pensions dashboards. Taken together with the Pensions Commission’s work on the long-term future of the system, our reforms are focussed on enabling mass market often disengaged pension savers secure decent retirement incomes, while improving opportunity for engaged savers to access information and support to inform choices.

UK State Pensions are payable worldwide, without regard to nationality and are only uprated abroad where we have a legal requirement to do so, for example in countries with which we have a reciprocal agreement that provides for uprating. This approach has been supported by successive governments over many years.

Access to Work is an important programme that supports many people to start and stay in work. We are committed to ensuring it can respond to demand. That is why we announced in May that we would recruit and train 480 additional staff to speed up decisions and tackle the existing backlog by September 2027. That is a 72.5% increase to the existing 658 staff already working on Access to Work.

Access to Work is funded within DWP’s Departmental Expenditure Limit (DEL) to support effective management of expenditure. Annually Managed Expenditure (AME) is generally reserved for spending that is particularly volatile or cannot reasonably be managed within departmental DEL budgets.

As set out in the Department for Work and Pensions’ November 2024 publication “Pension fund investment and the UK economy” the largest 5 and 10 defined contribution funds (either a Master Trust or GPP) in the UK held 55% and 74% of total DC assets respectively. The report can be found here: Pension fund investment and the UK economy.

The Pension Schemes Act scale provisions require defined contribution multi-employer schemes used for automatic enrolment to have scale of at least £25 billion of assets under management in one main scale default arrangement (MSDA) by 2030 or £10bn if approved for transition pathway relief with a credible plan to achieve scale of £25 billion by 2035. As shown in our Impact Assessment it is anticipated there will be approximately 15-20 multi-employer schemes after the scale reforms have taken place. We will continue to monitor the assets that will be managed by schemes as set out in our recently published Evaluation Strategy.

DWP’s Pension Fund Investment and the UK Economy Report, and the Impact Assessment that supports The Pension Schemes Act 2026, evidence the benefits of how consolidation and scale may be expected to increase investment in UK private markets. These reports evidence how larger pension schemes with over £25bn in assets are best placed to access private markets and that these assets naturally tend to be more UK-focussed, with over a 40% home bias, so have the potential to directly impact the UK economy. The evidence report can be found here: Pension fund investment and the UK economy - GOV.UK and the Impact Assessment here: Impact Assessment.

DWP continually reviews how customers access its services and is committed to providing a range of communication channels that meet differing customer needs and preferences.

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.

Evidence suggests there are a range of benefits from schemes achieving a greater level of scale through consolidation. This includes better governance, economies of scale, increased diversification of assets and improved bargaining power.

This evidence suggests a greater number of benefits can arise at £25 billion to £50 billion (or greater) of assets under management, as set out in the Department for Work and Pensions’ November 2024 publication “Pension fund investment and the UK economy”. The report can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pension-fund-investment-and-the-uk-economy/pension-fund-investment-and-the-uk-economy. Increased net returns via lower charges for members and higher net investment returns through diversification, both supported through scale, can drive improved member outcomes. This evidence is set out in the Pension Schemes Act Impact Assessment published in December 2025. The Impact Assessment can be found here: https://bills.parliament.uk/publications/63860/documents/7447.

The Department will continue to monitor the impact of consolidation on charges, as set out in our recently published Evaluation Strategy which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pension-schemes-act-2026-evaluation-strategy/pension-schemes-act-2026-evaluation-strategy.

On 19 May, I updated Parliament that from the week commencing 25 May, NS&I would start to contact affected estates, with holdings of £10 or more, to reunite them with the holdings owed to them. Remediation will be delivered in phases. NS&I has since issued letters and repayments to the first cohort of affected estates. NS&I aims to return holdings to affected estates as swiftly as possible and expects to complete its remediation programme in the first half of 2027.

UK State Pensions are payable worldwide, without regard to nationality and are only uprated abroad where we have a legal requirement to do so, for example in countries with which we have a reciprocal agreement that provides for uprating.

This approach has been supported by successive governments over many years with priority given to those living in the UK when drawing up expenditure plans for additional pensioner benefits.

In 2010 the then government chose to allocate £1.5 billion to the Equitable Life Payment Scheme. Before it ceased operations in 2016, the Scheme had issued £1.12 billion in tax-free payments to nearly 933,000 policyholders. The remainder of the £1.5 billion has been set aside for future payments to the With-Profits Annuitants. Further information is available in the Final Report on the Scheme. (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/equitable-life-payment-scheme-final-report).

We are aware of the potential impact that an El Niño can have on global agricultural production and therefore the price of food in the UK. There remains considerable uncertainty about its impact at this stage. We will continue to monitor the situation.

Ministers regularly engage with stakeholders on a range of matters including relating to pensions policy.

The State Pension is based on an individual’s National Insurance record and is payable to those who meet the eligibility criteria. Since its introduction in 2016, the new State Pension is designed to provide a consistent foundation level of income in later life.

State Pension entitlement has been based on an individual's National Insurance record since 1948. The Government acknowledges the concerns raised in the Report but has no plans to change the current scheme or the law to implement recommendation 27.

Trustees of occupational pension schemes must act in accordance with their legal and fiduciary duties and in the interests of scheme members. The consultation ‘Trust-based pension schemes: Trustees and governance, building a stronger future’ seeks views on trustee standards, governance and administration and does not alter those duties.

Trustees of occupational pension schemes must act in accordance with their legal and fiduciary duties and in the interests of scheme members. The consultation ‘Trust-based pension schemes: Trustees and governance, building a stronger future’ seeks views on trustee standards, governance and administration and does not alter those duties.

The Liberal Democrat Conservative coalition government chose to allocate £1.5 billion to the Equitable Life Payment Scheme. Before it ceased operations in 2016, the Scheme had issued £1.12 billion in tax-free payments to nearly 933,000 policyholders. The remainder of the £1.5 billion has been set aside for future payments to the With-Profits Annuitants. Further information is available in the Final Report on the Scheme. (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/equitable-life-payment-scheme-final-report).

Information on how the Scheme was designed and funded can be found in that report, and in the Scheme Design document at:
www.gov.uk/government/publications/equitable-life-payment-scheme-design

The Liberal Democrat Conservative coalition government chose to allocate £1.5 billion to the Equitable Life Payment Scheme. Before it ceased operations in 2016, the Scheme had issued £1.12 billion in tax-free payments to nearly 933,000 policyholders. The remainder of the £1.5 billion has been set aside for future payments to the With-Profits Annuitants. Further information is available in the Final Report on the Scheme. (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/equitable-life-payment-scheme-final-report).

Information on how the Scheme was designed and funded can be found in that report, and in the Scheme Design document at:
www.gov.uk/government/publications/equitable-life-payment-scheme-design