U.K. Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves has delayed a critical second phase of a government review into the pensions sector, according to reports in the Financial Times.

In July this year, Reeves had announced a pension review to “boost growth and make every part of Britain better off,” according to an official government release. The interim report of the first phase was published at a Mansion House event on November 14, with the second phase and publication of a final report due by the end of the year.

This now delayed second phase would have determined areas such as the rates of monthly contribution to pension savings. Currently, this rate is at 8%, 5% of which comes from the employee’s paycheck and 3% is provided by the employer. This rate is below the 12% contribution (from July onwards) of the Australian system, of which Reeves has spoken of trying to emulate.

Reeves however recently faced backlash for an increase in taxation on employers via raising their National Insurance Contributions from 13.8% to 15% as of April 6, with opposition leader Kemi Badenoch claiming it “would make all of us poorer.”

Responding to inquiry by Pensions & Investments, a spokesperson for the U.K.’s Department of Work and Pensions said: “Creating wealth and driving growth is at the heart of our plan for change. We are determined to ensure that tomorrow’s pensioners are supported, which is why the government announced the landmark two-stage Pensions Review days after coming into office and why the Pension Schemes Bill was in the King’s Speech.

“The interim report of the first phase was published at the Mansion House event on Nov. 14 and the final report will be published in the spring. Government will set out more details on the second phase in due course.”

Trade body the Pensions & Lifetime Savings Association has also called for the government to gradually increase minimum auto-enrolment contributions to 12% of an individual’s salary, the same rate as Australia.

Reacting to the delay to the final report, Jamie Fiveash, chief executive of the £6 billion ($7.6 billion) U.K. workplace retirement plan Smart Pension, London, said: “When this new Labour government came to power, it promised to fix the foundations of the country. There is no more foundational issue than our pensions timebomb. With nearly a third of savers set to fall below the minimum retirement living standard, delaying this review risks compounding an already pressing problem.”

As part of the Financial Services Growth and Competitiveness Strategy also announced in the Mansion House speech, over the next 10 years, in partnership with government and regulators, the asset management industry will aim to increase the number of people holding an investment product from just over 20% of the UK population to 75%. This increase would match the number of people who hold a cash savings account today, according to trade body the Investment Association in a news release.

The industry will also aim to increase its export earnings by nearly 50% from £11.7 billion to £15 billion a year over the next decade, the IA said.

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