On 25 July 2007, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) published a report prepared by Chris Lewin and Ed Sweeney under its deregulatory review of private pensions. The report recommends that the DWP should encourage greater use of risk-sharing schemes, and remove some of the regulatory obstacles. The existing system of primary and secondary legislation, supplemented by codes of practice and guidance from the Pensions Regulator, should be streamlined, so that regulations and codes do not cover the same areas.

Specific proposals include introducing an overriding statutory provision that would allow schemes to make future benefit changes if their rules prevent these, and allowing employers to recover surplus if their schemes are fully funded and the trustees agree. The report also recommends changes to the employer debt regime, so that employers that stop participating in a multi-employer scheme following a restructuring may not have to pay an employer debt if the trustees consider the overall strength of the employers' covenant has not been weakened. But the reviewers have not pursued their original proposals to remove mandatory pension increases or reduce the cap on revaluation rates for deferred pensions.