Steve Webb, the Minister for Pensions, has announced that the government will remove two key restrictions on its public pension scheme, the National Employment Savings Trust, after months of lobbying by the pensions industry, but not until 2017.

Later today the government will publish its response to a study on Nest and its restrictions, announcing that it is lifting the annual contribution limit that an employee can make to Nest from its current cap of £4,500, and will also remove a restriction that prevents employees from transferring their pension plans in and out of Nest.