Almost half (44 per cent) of UK adults lack confidence in pension savings being adequately protected from long-term risks, according to a YouGov survey.

Its findings highlighted growing concerns about the security of retirement income, alongside industry worries that not enough was being done to protect savers’ retirements from the physical and economic risks of climate change.

ClientEarth stated that the Pension Schemes Bill offered the government a “crucial opportunity” to improve savers’ confidence in the pensions system amid economic and environmental uncertainty.

Amendments looking to clarify trustees’ investment duties have been added to the bill to ensure broader risks are considered when protecting the value of pension pots.

While ClientEarth said consensus on fiduciary duty was clear, uncertainty remained in some areas about the extent to which trustees should take account of system-wide risks when making investment decisions.

Ministers have committed to addressing these concerns, including producing guidance to support trustee understanding, and ClientEarth welcomed these commitments, urging the government to deliver them quickly.

It called for the guidance to instruct trustees to take system-level risks, such as climate change, and the impacts of investments that affect savers’ retirement outcomes, into account.

ClientEarth said it supported the amendment that refers explicitly to these risks and guidance.

“People rely on their pensions to pay returns for decades to come and support them in later life,” commented ClientEarth lawyer, Catriona Glascott.

“In an ever-changing world with increasing risks posed by climate, nature loss and security, it’s no wonder people want greater confidence that trustees have got their eyes on the road ahead.

“The effects of climate change are already impacting the value and insurability of physical assets and posing risk at every level from individual investments to the whole economy – threatening pension pot value and retirees’ standards of living.

“Greater clarity on their legal duties will give trustees the confidence to act decisively in protecting pension value, which will strengthen public trust, and help ensure that today’s workers can retire with the financial security they have saved for.”

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