Government Announces National Collective Pension Scheme for Care Workers

A new national collective pension scheme for adult social care workers is to be introduced by the government, alongside plans for a dedicated workforce strategy covering careers, training and skills development.

Health and Social Care Secretary Yvette Cooper announced the measures during her keynote address at the 2026 Labour Party Conference today (September 30) , as the government set out further proposals aimed at strengthening the social care workforce.

The announcement comes as ministers continue work towards the government’s longer-term ambition of establishing a National Care Service in England.

Ms Cooper said the government wanted to improve pay, employment conditions and career opportunities for people working in adult social care, arguing that the workforce had historically been undervalued.

The government has already committed to introducing the first national fair pay agreement for adult social care, with negotiations covering pay, terms and conditions and other employment matters. The agreement is backed by £500 million for the first settlement.

Addressing Labour delegates, Ms Cooper said the government would also produce a dedicated workforce plan for social care.

The plan is expected to address areas including career progression, training and the development of specialist skills, although no publication date was given.

The announcement of a national collective pension scheme represents a further proposed change to employment arrangements within the sector.

Ms Cooper said the scheme would be the first of its kind nationally for workers in the care sector, placing pensions alongside pay and employment conditions as part of the government’s wider workforce reform programme.

Structured Framework

The government has already introduced a national care workforce pathway, providing a structured framework for roles across adult social care. The pathway covers 18 role categories and is intended to provide clearer routes for workers to develop their skills and progress into more senior positions or, where appropriate, regulated professions such as nursing and social work.

Natalie Grayson, GMB National Officer, said: “This is fantastic – and long overdue – news for our dedicated care workers.

“These are the people who look after us, and our loved ones, in our hour of need – it’s only right they can look forward to a safe, secure retirement.

“This pension pot, along with the Fair Pay Agreements, show this a Government that is finally working to address the poverty pay that has blighted the car sector for years.”

Melanie Weatherley MBE, Co-Chair of the Care Association Alliance and Chair of Lincolnshire Care Association, said: “Care workers have been undervalued and underpaid for years, so a national pension scheme and a legally binding fair pay agreement are genuinely welcome. This is the workforce settlement the Care Association Alliance is calling for in its forthcoming policy paper, due to be launched imminently, and it is good to see the direction of travel.

“The question every provider will be asking this morning is who pays. A fair pay agreement lands its costs on councils and providers, and neither has the headroom to absorb them. Unless the money follows the commitment, providers will be handed a legal duty they cannot fund, and the people who lose out are the ones being cared for.

“Career pathways matter, but they only work if pay moves with them. Today a care worker with five years’ experience earns about seven pence an hour more than someone who started last week, down from thirty-three pence a decade ago. That is why people leave.

“A pension and a fair pay agreement are the right tools to fix it, provided they are funded properly and reach every employer, not just the ones already doing the right thing.

“We have been promised reform of social care before, and delivery is what has been missing. Get the funding right and this could be the moment the workforce is finally valued. We stand ready to help the Government make it happen.”

Policy Solutions 

Professor Martin Green OBE, Chief Executive of Care England, said: “Care workers spend their whole working lives planning, protecting and providing for other people’s futures. Today, government confirmed it will finally do the same for theirs, and Care England fully supports it.

“Our analysis with COHIBL found that pension scheme members in this sector are around 20% more likely to retire below the minimum living standard than workers in other industries, and that’s before counting everyone who’s opted out altogether. That’s the picture a collective pension scheme can now start to fix, and fixing it means care can finally become the career people build a whole life on, not just a job they leave.”

The Prime Minister said yesterday that he’s sorry his profession let ours down for so long, and that he won’t leave the job without changing things for care workers. That’s exactly the kind of ambition this sector needs, and Care England is ready to match it. We have done extensive research into the pressures facing this workforce, and we have credible, evidence-based policy solutions ready for government to act on, just as it has today. We’re ready to build on that with government, starting now.”

National Care Service

The pension announcement follows comments from Prime Minister Andy Burnham earlier in the week in which he reiterated the government’s commitment to creating a National Care Service in the next Parliament.

Under the proposals announced by Mr Burnham, a National Care Service would provide free personal care for older people according to need rather than ability to pay. The government says Baroness Casey’s ongoing review will help determine how and when the service should be developed.

The Prime Minister has previously said that reform of the social care workforce should be treated as an immediate priority alongside the longer-term development of a National Care Service.