Pension Schemes Act 2026

Navigating the changing pensions landscape.

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The Pension Schemes Act 2026 makes wide-ranging reforms across the pensions eco-system. We’re here to support you with understanding what those changes mean for your pension scheme – now, and in the years to come.

The Pension Schemes Act received Royal Assent on 29 April 2026, marking the end of a legislative journey that began on 5 June 2025 when the Bill was introduced. However, where one journey ends another begins. Royal Assent heralds the beginning of a period of intense legal and regulatory activity spanning the next 5 years and beyond as, with the framework measures in the Act now in place, the implementation phase gets underway.

Together with the secondary legislation to be made under it the PSA26, described by many in the industry as a “game-changer”, will make sweeping reforms across the breadth of the pensions landscape. The reforms span the defined benefit (DB) and defined contribution (DC) universes as well as the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS), and have at their heart a common theme – a vision of a future with fewer, bigger, better run schemes that are able to invest in a broader range of asset classes (including private equity and infrastructure), generate better returns and play a pivotal role in driving economic growth.

Who is this page for?

This page brings together our resources on the PSA26, including our handbook and supporting materials, and signposts content by theme – to help you navigate seamlessly to content that is relevant to your scheme and stakeholders.

Our aim is to help trustees, scheme managers, employers, LGPS funds and the wider pensions industry track the reforms and understand what they mean in practice as the detail for implementation emerges in subsequent consultations, regulations and regulatory codes of practice and/or guidance.

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Our handbook

Our handbook summarises the key pensions law changes being made by the PSA26 and is designed as a user-friendly guide to the key reforms. Each page sets out the previous legal position, details of what is changing and likely timeframes for implementation, as well as our commentary on what the changes may mean for interested parties.

With dedicated chapters for DB and DC schemes, and for the LGPS, our easy-to-navigate guide helps trustees, scheme managers, employers, LGPS funds and the wider pensions industry to identify the changes that impact you.

Read the handbook

Watch our video series

Royal Assent – what comes next?

Key Act changes, what they mean for schemes, members and the wider industry, and how to navigate the evolving pensions landscape.

Royal Assent – what comes next?

What it means for DC schemes

LGPS – how are roles and responsibilities changing?

LGPS – pooling and investment reforms

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The road to 2030 and beyond

Of course, for many of the reforms being made the PSA26 is only the beginning of the story, with details for implementation to follow in subsequent regulations and regulatory codes of practice and/or guidance. Whilst some measures, including the section 37 remedy provisions, came into force immediately on Royal Assent, much of the rest of the Act will be brought into force by regulations at a later date. The timelines below set out expected milestones for key measures coming into effect.

Defined Benefit timeline

April 2026

S37 remedy
  • Provisions came into force on Royal Assent and are now available for schemes with potentially remediable alterations to use.

June 2026

PPF levy changes
  • On 29 June 2026 changes to the levy rules will come into force which will give the PPF greater flexibility to reintroduce a levy in future once it has been reduced to zero. The PPF has already reduced its levy to zero for the past 2 levy years in anticipation of these amendments coming into force.

January 2027

Increases to pre 1997 benefits for members of the PPF and FAS
  • The intention is that these increases, prospective only and only applicable to certain members depending on the rules of their original scheme, will be applied from January 2027.

April 2027

Surplus changes
  • Changes to make it easier for ongoing schemes to pay surplus monies to employers are expected to come into force. A consultation on the draft regulations to implement the new flexibilities began on 10 June 2026 , and the Pensions Regulator has also published a statement for trustees. A consultation on regulatory guidance is expected to follow later in 2026.

April 2028

Superfunds
  • It is anticipated that the new statutory authorisation and supervision regime for DB superfunds will come into force. This includes both regulations and an updated regulatory Code of Practice. Until then the superfunds market will continue to operate under the existing interim regime.
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Defined Contribution timeline

Early-mid 2027

Guided retirement
  • Master trusts required to comply with new obligations to provide default pension benefit solutions.

Early-mid 2028

Guided retirement
  • Single employer trusts and GPPs begin compliance with default pension benefit obligations.
Contractual override
  • New power for contract-based workplace DC providers to transfer or vary member pension arrangements without their consent, subject to meeting a “best interests” test.

Mid-late 2028

Value for money
  • First schemes required to publish value for money data and undertake assessments.
Small pots consolidation
  • Providers can apply to become authorised consolidators.

2030

Scale
  • In order to qualify for use as an automatic enrolment scheme, multi-employer DC workplace schemes will be required to have a “main scale default arrangement” with assets of at least £25bn (or at least £10bn and regulator approval to sue the transition pathway to reach £25bn by 2035).
Small pots
  • Requirements for dormant pots of £1,000 or less to be automatically consolidated expected to come into force.
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Explore the reforms by theme

Defined Benefits

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Defined Contribution

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LGPS

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Other PSA26 changes

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Contact us

If you would like to discuss any aspect of the Pension Schemes Act reforms or other anticipated changes, contact Richard Knight or your usual Burges Salmon representative from our wider Pensions and Lifetime Savings team.