Reeves set to announce pension reform to boost infrastructure investment by billions

The chancellor is planning to overhaul Britain’s pensions system in an effort to increase infrastructure investment by billions.

The Treasury has confirmed reports suggesting pension reform to boost growth will be one of the key messages of a major speech that Rachel Reeves is set to make in the City of London on 14 November.

According to The Times, Reeves favours Canadian-style pension reform, which would mean merging £400bn worth of local authority pension schemes.

The chancellor met with the executives who run these schemes in August.

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The newspaper quoted “city sources” as wanting further reforms to free up £225bn worth of surpluses held by defined benefit pension schemes.

Reeves’ speech could also include detail on how the government plans to use the extra borrowing created by changes to the government’s debt rules in last week’s Budget.

Markets had a shaky reaction to the Budget, with ten-year gilt yields spiking after the chancellor left the Commons chamber on Wednesday before stabilising on Friday.

A Treasury spokesperson said: “Following this week’s budget to fix the foundations of the UK economy, the chancellor is focused on growth. Central to that are the next steps on pension reform, which will be set out in her Mansion House speech. This will unlock more private investment to fuel the government’s growth mission.”

The annual Mansion House address is often used by the chancellor to set out the government’s plans for the economy and the financial sector.