The Teesside Pension Fund has slammed UK government proposals to pool local authority pension scheme assets, a measure it says could increase its costs and undermine its performance, and is seeking guarantees to protect its position.

The government is nudging the 89 local authority schemes in England and Wales to pool their assets to create five or six superfunds, each worth between £20 billion and £40 billion. It believes this will lead to cost savings and greater asset diversification.