British Treasury chief Rachel Reeves is set to announce plans later Thursday to merge dozens of pension funds with the aim of unlocking tens of billions of pounds for investment and boosting the U.K.'s sub-par economic growth.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves said the UK will introduce legislation next year to pool £1.3 trillion ($1.7 trillion) of pension savings into a series of “megafunds,” as the new Labour government tries to deliver on its pledge to boost private investment and economic growth.

UK public sector pension funds are not big enough to generate good returns for British savers, Chancellor Rachel Reeves has told the BBC. Her comments come as the government reveals plans to merge the UK's local government pension scheme, a group of funds which together manage £354bn in investments, into a handful of "pension megafunds".

In her first Mansion House speech as Chancellor, Rachel Reeves announced plans for megafunds which she said could unlock £80 billion for investment. | ITV National News

Rachel Reeves will tear up workplace pension rules as part of a broader shake-up that the Chancellor claims will unlock up to £80bn in investment.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves is to set out what she is calling the "biggest pension reform in decades" in an attempt to boost growth. The government wants to merge the UK's 86 council pension schemes into a handful of "pension megafunds".