From regulatory updates and tax rumblings to rising annuity demand and continued momentum in the bulk purchase annuity market it’s been another busy week in pensions.

With autumn approaching, attention is turning to the upcoming Budget, with speculation around potential pension tax changes continuing to build.

Reports suggest Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, may consider reducing the tax-free pension lump sum.

Other work is also continuing despite the summer recess, as the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) took a concrete step this week, launching a call for evidence as part of its third state pension age (SPA) review to gather views on the factors that should shape the SPA in future decades.

The call for evidence is seeking views on what factors should shape the SPA in future decades, with particular focus on how linking SPA to life expectancy could affect intergenerational fairness and impact different groups.

Another key development saw the government confirm it will move the mandatory scheme pays deadline to 6 July 2027, following McCloud delays, in a move that industry experts have described as a "very welcome and pragmatic" decision.

On the regulatory front, The Pensions Regulator (TPR) published several updates this week.

The first is, as confirmed to Pensions Age, that it is currently updating the Trustee Toolkit, with several updated modules already available in a beta testing phase.

In addition, the regulator confirmed that more than 2,000 pension scam victims have received compensation to help rebuild their lives, with a total of £81.5m paid across 58 pension schemes whose members were defrauded.

Meanwhile, public pressure for faster pension processes continues to grow.

More than 2,000 people have backed PensionBee’s petition calling for a 10-day pension switch guarantee, which the group cited as evidence of demand for clearer and speedier transfers.

At the same time, the Society of Pension Professionals warned that both the government and the pensions industry need to act on pension adequacy, describing it as “arguably the biggest challenge faced to date”.

In light of this, it set out several recommendations for the recently revived Pensions Commission, urging the group to establish a clear definition of “adequate” retirement income and to recommend practical measures for boosting savings and rebuilding public trust.

The industry was also called on this week by Hughes Price Walker to provide greater support for smaller DB schemes.

In particular, it emphasised that regulators, advisers, and insurers should adapt their processes so all schemes, regardless of size, can access efficient and viable endgame solutions.

Also in the DB space, research from Aon found that the number of DB schemes granting discretionary pension increases has fallen, with 83 per cent of schemes yet to decide how to share any surplus between sponsors and members.

Together, these developments underscore the challenges facing DB schemes, particularly smaller ones, as they navigate funding decisions, surplus allocation, and the need for tailored regulatory support.

Analysis from Aon suggested that, despite lower overall volumes, the number of BPA deals remained strong in the first half of 2025, and the second half of the year is expected to remain “very busy”.

At the same time, annuities have continued to gain popularity, with the average purchase size rising by more than 160 per cent since 2021, according to research from Hargreaves Lansdown.

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