Industry speculation has continued to grow ahead of Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ Mansion House speech, with many hopeful that she will announce plans for the second phase of the government’s pension review, focusing on adequacy issues.

Reports previously suggested that Reeves is set to use her Mansion House speech to announce plans to appoint a commission to lead the adequacy review, looking at auto-enrolment rates alongside the state pension and retirement savings of the self-employed.

Industry experts have been keen to share their wish lists ahead of the launch of the review, with particular calls for the government to implement the 2017 auto-enrolment reforms, and to consider increasing pension contributions more widely.

These calls have been growing for some time, as industry experts previously urged the government to launch the second phase of the re-view "sooner rather than later" amid concerns that many savers are still not saving enough, with widespread disappointment over the news that the bill was not laid before the end of last year, as initially suggested by the government.

My Pension Expert policy director, Lily Megson-Harvey, agreed that raising the auto-enrolment level would be one step in the right direction to help people save for retirement.

However, she emphasised that auto-enrolment is not the only area with calls for change, as Megson-Harvey said that default options should not be seen as the only solution.

"Over 90 per cent of consumers don't currently access pensions advice, with many lacking financial security when they reach the end of their career," she continued.

“Without addressing this lack of engagement, any government review won't achieve the results they are hoping for.

"We need to see a step change from government in how it helps people understand and engage with their pension options, so their money works harder for them.

"For example, access to education, information, guidance and advice will help people to understand why it's important to save more and how they can make decisions now to secure the financial futures they want."

Many industry experts are also keen for the review to consider the role of the state pension, with particular calls for reform from the Institute for Fiscal Studies, as well as learnings from the Work and Pensions Committee's recent inquiry into pensioner poverty,, which was launched in anticipation of the second phase of the review.

Whilst the launch of the review seems likely soon, some commentators expressed disappointment that the government did not take advantage of earlier opportunities to address adequacy concerns, warning that "time is running out" to address pension adequacy issues.

And any changes following the review could be a long-term piece of work, as LCP also noted that any legislation off the back of phase two of the review could take "years" to implement.

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