Skip to main content
Get started
Press releases·13th May 2025·5 min read

NatWest Cushon Mansion House Accord

PRESS COMMENT: 13 MAY 2025

Pension savers want to see more of their money invested in the UK - views align with the government’s Mansion House Accord

  • 52% of savers agree that pension funds should invest more in the UK and only 8% disagree

  • Younger savers are more likely to want investments in the UK than older savers

  • Low carbon farming case study showcases investing in real and tangible UK assets

NatWest Cushon, the workplace savings and pensions fintech and signature to the new Mansion House Accord, has found the majority of savers want to see their pensions invested in UK productive assets in a way that promotes a higher standard of living for them in retirement.

When the question of investing more in UK assets was put to 1,563 UK pension savers by YouGov, on behalf of NatWest Cushon, a net 52% of people agreed they want more of their pension invested in the UK in a way that promotes a higher standard of living for them in retirement. Just 8% disagreed.

Younger savers were more likely to agree with almost two-thirds (61%) of 25–34-year-olds doing so.

The new Mansion House Accord sees a 10% allocation to private markets with a 5% commitment specific to the UK, which includes investments in assets such as high growth private companies and cutting-edge renewable projects such as wind and solar farms. These types of investment can not only improve financial outcomes but also positively impact savers’ standards of living in retirement.

The investment case for UK private markets is strong, which is why we are a signatory to the Mansion House Compact and have also signed up to the new Mansion House Accord. But there is another positive angle - reconnecting people with the investments their pension is making. These types of investments are real and tangible and show savers how hard their money is working to improve their standard of living in the UK.  

So it’s really encouraging to see this appetite from pension savers to invest in UK assets, particularly among younger people. That’s exactly the type of customer the industry generally struggles to engage, so it’s fantastic to see that investing further in UK private markets aligns with what they want.

Ben Pollard, CEO, NatWest Cushon

Eating your pension; a case study of investing in the UK

NatWest Cushon provided seed funding for the UK’s first ever Long-Term Asset Fund, Schroders Capital Climate+ LTAF, in 2021. The fund includes allocation to private equity, sustainable infrastructure and real estate.

Investments within the fund offer some fantastic examples of how pension savers can see their pensions in action. In fact, they can eat their own pension!

For example, NatWest Cushon – and so its savers – invests in a farm in Suffolk that produces over 100,000 sweet peppers a week but has a carbon footprint that’s 75% smaller than it would be if it was heated in a conventional way. The trick? Reusing the waste heat from a nearby water treatment works.

Covering the equivalent of about 20 football pitches, the structure at Ingham near Bury St Edmunds is the largest single-block greenhouse in the UK. 

It’s so big that the staff tending the crops use bicycles to get around it, and the windowpanes contain three times the amount of glass used to build The Shard in London. 

Victoria Humble at pepper farm

NatWest Cushon CIO Victoria Humble, at the Bury St Edmunds pepper farm.

The low carbon farm in Suffolk is a great example of a real and tangible investment that brings pensions alive for savers. Our customers can visit and physically see how their pension is being invested and then go into a supermarket and literally eat the fruits of their investment. It’s so powerful.

It’s fortunate that this strategy also aligns with the government’s goals for growth; we can invest more in UK assets, which is what savers want, while helping meet the government’s objectives for the wider pensions industry.

Ben Pollard, CEO, NatWest Cushon

Editors notes

All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. Total sample size was 2,074 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 17th - 22nd April 2025. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all UK adults (aged 18+).

For more information, contact:

Tom Ellis, PR Director, the lang cat 

T: 07840 848358 

Email: tomellis@thelangcat.co.uk

About NatWest Cushon

NatWest Cushon is a fintech using its leading financial technology to engage savers and empower them to build a better financial future. 

NatWest Cushon offers pension and savings products via a mobile app that provides a personalised experience, making it easy for customers to manage their money and invest in a way that aligns with their personal goals and beliefs.

With a solution that integrates with payroll and benefit platforms, NatWest Cushon's products are delivered via the workplace to reach as many savers as possible with £3bn currently invested. More than 21,000 employers and 650,000 savers currently use NatWest Cushon to help enhance the financial wellbeing of their workforce by providing employees with a simple and convenient way to save into pensions, ISAs and other products direct from pay. 

NatWest Cushon is the trading name of Cushon Group Limited.

Article by

Press comment