Pension Schemes Bill: motion to disagree with Lords Amendment 35

What happened: On 15 April 2026, MPs voted to reject Lords Amendment 35 to the Pension Schemes Bill, a government motion known as a "motion to disagree." The vote passed by 275 ayes to 159 noes, restoring the government's preferred version of the Bill. This was one of several divisions held on the same day as part of a wider "ping-pong" process, in which the Bill was bouncing between the Commons and the Lords after the upper chamber inflicted a series of defeats on the government.

Why it matters: The Pension Schemes Bill is designed to improve returns for pension savers, primarily by consolidating a fragmented pensions landscape and encouraging schemes to invest in a broader range of assets. By rejecting this Lords amendment, along with several others on the same day, the government preserved its chosen approach to pension reform, including provisions that give ministers a reserve power to direct a portion of pension scheme assets into qualifying categories, subject to limits and safeguards. The outcome keeps those provisions in the Bill in a form the government considers workable, affecting the investment strategies of workplace pension schemes and, by extension, the retirement savings of millions of workers.

The politics: The vote followed strictly partisan lines. Labour and Labour and Co-operative MPs voted unanimously in favour, joined by Green MPs and one independent, while Conservatives, Liberal Democrats, the SNP, Plaid Cymru, and Reform UK all voted against. There were no notable rebels on either side. The Conservatives framed the Bill as an improper government reach into private savings, while the government and its supporters argued the investment powers were tightly constrained and aimed at delivering better returns for savers. The Lords had passed 12 amendments against the government's wishes, and this day's votes represented the Commons pushing back on the majority of them.