Industry experts have expressed their disappointment after Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, failed to announce the launch of the second phase of the pensions review at her Mansion House speech.

Reports had previously suggested that Reeves would announce plans to appoint a commission to lead the pensions adequacy review, looking at auto-enrolment rates alongside the state pension and savings of the self-employed.

However, whilst pensions did appear in the speech, there was no mention of the much-anticipated adequacy review.

Instead, Reeves highlighted the ongoing work being done to deliver the pension reforms announced at her previous Mansion House speech, suggesting that the Pension Schemes Bill will be signed into law in the next few months.

She stated: “The creation of defined contribution (DC) and Local Government Pension Scheme megafunds…will mean larger and more powerful pots of funding invested productively across the country.

“Pension funds, and this government, are united in our determination to deliver higher returns for savers and more investment in the economy.

“That is why, since last year, funds covering the majority of the DC market have committed to the Mansion House Accord…pledging to invest at least 10 per cent of their main funds into private assets such as infrastructure and growth markets…with at least half of that going into UK projects.”

She also highlighted the role of the Employer Pension Pledge, which was launched by the Lord Mayor of London, Alastair King, the day before (14 July).

“I would also like to congratulate the Lord Mayor on his employer pension pledge,” Reeves said in her speech. “I am delighted, Lord Mayor, to see businesses such as Tesco, First Group and Octopus making this commitment…and like you Lord Mayor I look forward to seeing more companies joining up.”

Despite the progress being made through the Pension Schemes Bill, industry experts have expressed disappointment over the failure to launch the pension adequacy review, with many highlighting this as a “missed opportunity”.

Pensions Management Institute (PMI) chief strategy officer, Helen Forrest Hall, said: “Retirement adequacy cannot be solved in isolation. We must break down product silos and build a lifetime savings framework that reflects how people actually live—balancing pensions, ISAs, housing and emergency savings.”

Given this, the PMI urged the government to reassert its commitment to phase two of the review and to engage with stakeholders to deliver a system that works for people, not just products.

This adds to growing calls for change, as industry experts previously urged the government to launch the second phase of the review "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.

And whilst the government recently suggested that the review would be launched "in the coming months", 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.

"With every passing year that this issue goes unaddressed, time is running out for people already well through their working life to have the chance for a decent retirement," Webb stated.

Any broader auto-enrolment reforms are also seemingly on hold as the industry awaits the launch of phase two.

When previously asked whether the government would be looking to take forward the Private Members Bill to extend auto-enrolment to lower earners and younger workers, which gained Royal Asset after passing through parliament in 2023, Pensions Minister, Torsten Bell, stated: “I want to consider wider questions in the round about the future of the pension system, and that’s what Phase two is going to be doing.”

However, Pensions Minister, Torsten Bell, has repeatedly hit back at claims that the second phase of the review had been postponed, branding the suggestion that this issue had been kicked into the long grass as "nonsense".

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