Policy paper

Pension funds and social investment: final response

This is the government’s final response to the Law Commission’s report on pension funds and social investment.

• From: Department for Culture, Media and Sport, Department for Work and Pensions, Law Commission and Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport
• Published: 18 June 2018
• Last updated: 19 June 2018 — See all updates

This was published under the 2016 to 2019 May Conservative government

Documents

Pension funds and social investment: the government's final response

PDF, 926 KB, 28 pages

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Details

In November 2016, the government asked the Law Commission to look at how far pension funds may or should consider issues of social impact when making investment decisions.

The Law Commission’s report found there are no substantive regulatory barriers to making social impact investment by pension funds. Most of the barriers are in fact structural and behavioural, including the need for clearer legislation and guidance.

This is the government’s final response to the report. It includes plans to clarify the requirements for trustees of occupational pensions and the independent governance committees of workplace personal pensions around:

• consideration of broader long term financial risks
• pension schemes’ ability to consider members’ non-financial or ethical concerns
• the role of engagement alongside voting as an important aspect of stewardship of pension scheme assets

Consultation

We published a consultation on the draft Occupational Pension Schemes (Investment and Disclosure) (Amendment) Regulations 2018 with this final response.

Related publications

Read the Law Commission report – Pension funds and social investment.

We published the government’s interim response in December 2017.

Published 18 June 2018
Last updated 19 June 2018 + show all updates

1. 19 June 2018

   Changed page 10, paragraph 8 to read: "The FCA is also considering other possible extensions to the remit of IGCs and intends to consult on a single package of rule changes in the first quarter of 2019" (not the first half of 2019).

2. 18 June 2018

   First published.