Pensions UK Stewardship and Voting Guidelines 2026

11 December 2025

Pensions UK’s Stewardship and Voting Guidelines 2026 provide a framework for pension schemes trustees and their advisers to drive responsible investment and influence positive corporate behaviour globally. Our detailed voting recommendations ensure your organisation plays an active role in shaping corporate governance and holding companies accountable.

This year’s guidelines outline clear principles to assess and engage with companies for sustainable long-term value. In this edition, we consider in particular:   

• AI and cybersecurity: Strengthened narrative on what good company behaviour looks like and strengthened voting recommendations. This reflects the increasing number of cybersecurity incidents and how their impact has been more damaging as well as the significant increase in AI-related resolutions during the 2025 season. 
• Governance: A change in narrative to reflect that while governance scrutiny is rising, shareholders do have less ability to influence. This leads to a greater focus on potential collaborative stewardship options and emerging industry initiatives.   
• Climate and sustainability: Revised narrative to reflect the growing global backlash to ESG as well as updates to consider policy developments in 2025. 
• Social factors and workforce: Revised narrative to reflect a greater level of focus on social factors as well as updates to key emerging issues for consideration. 
• EDI: Reinforced narrative around EDI to reinforce our commitment to the belief that a robust approach to EDI drives better outcomes. 
• Emerging trends: A new section to frame the guidelines which highlights key emerging trends from the 2025 voting season. 
• Pass-through voting: Intro to pass-through voting as an option for exercising shareholder rights. NB – we have tried to ensure the narrative is neutrally positioned on this and presents it as just one option (which won’t work for all).  

Above, you'll find the full guidelines, our stewardship fundamentals – where we would recommend anyone new to the guidelines should start – and a summary document. For those who are more familiar with our guidelines and have a clearer idea of the issues they are interested in, you can also access each section of the guidelines individually below.

Sections

Significant developments relevant to asset owners in 2025
The 2025 voting season – key emerging trends     
Section 1: Board leadership and company purpose
Section 2: Division of responsibilities
Section 3: Composition, succession and evaluation
Section 4: Audit, risk and internal control
Section 5: Remuneration
Section 6: Climate change and sustainability
Section 7: Social factors and workforce
Section 8: Capital structure and allocation
Section 9: Taking a holistic approach