Select committee: Public Accounts Committee
Conclusion 22
69th Report - Whole of Government Accounts 2023-24
Published 4 Mar 2026
Addressed to HM Treasury
Public Accounts Committee Whole of Government Accounts 2023-24 All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Conclusion (the committee's words)
We questioned how 2023–24 pension disclosures appeared to show a reduction in public sector pension liabilities and raised that this was counter intuitive. We raised concern that this disclosure created presents a false picture of the underlying fiscal reality when the number of scheme members continues to risk and life expectancy trends increase long-term obligations.41 The Treasury acknowledged the Committee’s concern and suggested that the most meaningful long-term indicator of pension affordability is pension spending as a share of GDP. It commented that pensions were currently about 1.9% of GDP and expected to fall to about 1.4% over the next 50 years. The Treasury agreed with the general point about being transparent about different ways of measurement in order to support debate.42
From: Public Accounts Committee, 69th Report - Whole of Government Accounts 2023-24 (HC 1243), 4 March 2026
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 1 June 2026 (deadline 4 May 2026).