Mercer Human Resources Consulting has slammed an unexpected proposal by Alan Johnson, the UK government's new work and pensions secretary, to increase member representation on pension scheme boards of trustees from a third to a half of the total.

"We're staggered," said Tim Keogh, European partner at Mercer, one of the UK's most powerful consultancy firms. "The government is struggling to get the pensions bill through Parliament and cannot yet explain how key provisions like the financial assistance scheme will work. Its resources are clearly stretched yet, out of the blue, it finds time to tinker with member-nominated trustee rules which have already been strengthened.