Employer Pension Pledge

Signatories and testimonials

“Rightly there has been much focus on how to improve long-term outcomes for pensions, by looking beyond a narrow, cost-focussed model. It is equally important to have an honest discussion about the barriers that need to be overcome to democratise private markets.”

Jason Windsor, CEO, Aberdeen Group

“We’re proud to support the Employer Pensions Pledge. As a major UK pension provider and employer, Aviva is committed to delivering the best possible outcomes for our customers and our people, including investing in UK assets—such as innovative, early-stage businesses—while ensuring excellent value.”

Amanda Blanc, CEO, Aviva

“At Canada Life UK, we are proud to support the financial wellbeing of our colleagues throughout their careers and into retirement. Signing the Employer Pensions Pledge underscores our commitment to ensuring that the decisions we make about our workplace pension arrangements prioritise the long-term interests of our colleagues and ensures the scheme delivers value, so we can support our people in achieving a secure and sustainable retirement.”

Nick Harding, Chief People Officer Canada Life UK

“Our employees are at the heart of our business with the skills, expertise and knowledge to drive our future success, and we are committed to finding ways to deliver better retirement outcomes for them. We are very pleased to sign the Employer Pensions Pledge as the ambitions of the Lord Mayor of London, Mansion House Compact and Mansion House Accord in this area align with the high standards we set for our pension schemes.”

Graham Sutherland, CEO, FirstGroup

“As one of the UK’s largest pension providers we are proud to be among the signatories of the City of London Corporation’s Employer Pensions Pledge. We fully support this initiative and its ambition to deliver better retirement outcomes for UK workers while unlocking the long-term potential of pension capital to drive economic growth.”

António Simões, Group Chief Executive Officer, L&G

“LSEG is proud to be one of the first organisations to commit to the Employer Pensions Pledge and welcomes its ambition to focus on prioritising net returns for pension savers. Taken alongside the Government’s reform agenda and the Mansion House Compact and Accord, we welcome the overarching approach to drive greater investment into our domestic economy and deliver better retirement outcomes for UK employees.”

Dame Julia Hoggett, CEO, London Stock Exchange plc

“As a long-standing private markets investor, M&G understands their power to shape the world, drive economic growth and give individuals the benefit of enhanced returns though greater diversification. This is another important initiative that shifts the focus from cost to value, helping individuals to maximise their pension savings.”

Andrea Rossi, CEO, M & G

“We have long been a supporter of the UK’s private markets and its potential to deliver strong outcomes for investors. Whether that’s through our institutional funds or through our retail products, such as Venture Capital Trusts. The Pledge therefore has natural alignment with what we believe in here at Octopus. It’s great to see businesses, alongside ours, coming together to educate employees, many of whom are long-term UK savers, on the benefits of allocating to this asset class.”

Chris Hulatt, Co-Founder, Octopus Group Investments

“At Samworth Brothers we welcome this initiative. As a fourth-generation family business, ensuring that our people enjoy quality pension arrangements has always been a priority for us. Businesses are vital to the UK pension landscape, both in encouraging employees to participate and benefit from occupational schemes and also through fund investment strategies.”

Charles Noble, Samworth Brothers Chief Financial Officer

“For too long now, the majority of defined contribution pension schemes have been focused on costs rather than delivering the best possible returns for savers and, ultimately, retirees. A greater focus on value for money and long-term investment outcomes is a strong step in the right direction. Furthermore, these proposals should help unlock capital to invest in private markets, such as infrastructure, benefitting savers and the wider economy.”

Richard Oldfield, Group Chief Executive, Schroders

“Standard Chartered Bank is pleased to sign this pledge which highlights important investment themes that are particularly relevant in the pensions space. The Bank’s UK pension plan is governed by a trustee board that is already actively engaged with value for money considerations, given their fiduciary responsibilities, and already look at a wide range of potential investments in conjunction with their investment consultants. The Bank continues to have a close and productive collaboration with the pension trustee board.”

Saif Malik, CEO UK & Head of Client Coverage, Standard Chartered Bank

"As the largest private sector employer in the UK, with more than £5bn of assets in our defined contribution pension scheme, the retirement savings of our colleagues really matter to us. We continuously look for the best UK and international private market and listed opportunities to improve future investment returns, net of costs, to maximise our members’ retirement savings. We know how important this is for our members and that's why we support and have signed up to the Employer's Pledge.”

Ruston Smith, Chair, Tesco Retirement Savings Plan

“It’s encouraging to see leading employers rally behind the Employer Pensions Pledge. Championing value for money over cost alone puts employees’ interests at the heart of employer decisions on pensions. It will help usher in the saver-focused culture across the whole pension system that we’ve long called for.”

Dr. Yvonne Braun OBE, Director of Long-Term Savings Policy, the ABI

“With defined contribution assets continuing to grow, workplace pension funds designed for automatic enrolment contributions are pursuing more sophisticated investment strategies. The Employer Pensions Pledge is a welcome initiative, demonstrating that leading employers recognise the potential for higher net returns and are prioritising overall value for money when selecting a pension fund to deliver the best retirement outcomes for their employees.”

Zoe Alexander, Director of Policy and Advocacy, Pensions UK

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