The government will amend the mandation clause in the Pension Schemes Bill to limit its scope, pensions minister Torsten Bell has said.
Speaking at the Pensions UK Investment Conference today (11 March), Bell said the legislation will be clarified to ensure it specifically backstops the Mansion House Accord.
“The only purpose of the reserve power in the Pension Schemes Bill is to backstop the [Mansion House] Accord goals,” the minister said. “We will ensure that is put beyond doubt. As the legislation enters its final phases in the House of Lords, we will ensure it is clear that the reserve power is only for this one purpose.”
“We’re not going to be in the business of taking fiduciary decisions… We will only be able to use this power to implement the Accord and for nothing else.”
Torsten Bell, pensions minister
His comments come after Pensions UK and the Association of British Insurers warned of damaging effects of mandation and called for the power to be dropped from the Pension Schemes Bill entirely.
Pensions UK chief executive Julian Mund said last week that the current drafting of the clause “goes far beyond the scope of the Mansion House Accord and could be used to direct investment in very broad terms, either by this government or a future one”.
The trade body urged the government to limit the clause’s scope to the Mansion House Accord, which Bell has said will happen as the bill completes its passage through the House of Lords.
Expanding on his comments, the minister said: “We’re not going to be in the business of taking fiduciary decisions… We will only be able to use this power to implement the Accord and for nothing else.”
However, Bell added that, while the mandation power has a sunset clause, this may not stop future governments from making different decisions – and removing the power would not do this either.
He said: “Remember, any government that has a majority can do things… Politics works when all citizens are involved. It’s not just on me to make sure the bad people don’t turn up and do bad things.”
Industry bodies welcome clarity
Following the minister’s comments, the Pensions Management Institute (PMI) and Society of Pension Professionals (SPP) issued a joint statement welcoming the prospect of the amended clause.
The PMI’s chief strategy officer Helen Forrest Hall said: “This is a positive step that reflects concerns that we and others have consistently raised about its impact on trustees’ fiduciary duty. We look forward to reviewing the amendment in detail as the bill progresses.”
Sophia Singleton, president of the SPP, added: “We are pleased that our longstanding campaign to get the mandation power brought into line with the Mansion House Accord has proved successful and that the minister has listened to the industry on this vitally important issue.”
Forrest Hall and Singleton appeared before MPs at the beginning of the Pension Schemes Bill’s passage through parliament in September to present a united front in their organisations’ campaign against mandation.
This article was updated on 11 March 2026 to add comments from the PMI and SPP.
