Pension Schemes Bill: motion to disagree with Lords Amendment 78

Parliament voted on 15 April 2026 to reject Lords Amendment 78 to the Pension Schemes Bill, restoring the Bill to the form the government preferred on this point. The result was 277 votes in favour of rejection (Ayes) to 150 against (Noes), meaning the Lords' change was overturned. This was one of several divisions held on the same day as part of the "ping-pong" process, in which the two Houses exchange amendments until they reach agreement.

The vote is part of a broader struggle over the Pension Schemes Bill, which aims to consolidate the UK's fragmented workplace pension landscape and improve returns for savers. The government's central argument is that greater scale in pension schemes reduces costs and opens up wider investment strategies. Lords Amendment 78 was among a group of amendments that the government said engaged the Commons' financial privilege, meaning the Lords had proposed changes with direct implications for public expenditure. By voting to disagree with Amendment 78, MPs backed the government's position on this dimension of the Bill, keeping in place provisions the government argues are necessary to deliver higher retirement incomes.

Voting divided almost entirely along party lines. All 264 Labour and Labour-Co-operative MPs who voted supported the government, while all 86 Conservatives and all 59 Liberal Democrats who voted sided with the Lords. Reform UK, the Democratic Unionist Party, and the single Independent who voted also backed the Lords' position. There were no notable rebels on either side. The Scottish National Party and Plaid Cymru voted with the government. This division was one of at least six similar votes on the same day, with the government winning each by comparable margins of roughly 110 to 120 votes, suggesting a consistent pattern of Labour holding its majority throughout the ping-pong process.