The UK government’s plan to fuel a post-Covid “investment big bang” with billions of pounds of pension money risks petering out as retirement funds get cold feet.
The prime minister and chancellor last month challenged UK pension funds and asset managers, who hold £1tn of assets, to use their funds to support an “innovative, healthier, greener future for their country”.
But a Financial Times survey of private and public sector retirement schemes, and managers of pension cash, suggests the appeal is not generating widespread support, because of concerns over cost and complexity.
One senior executive with a large pension scheme said the government’s push “threatens to launch with a whimper more than a big bang”.
