Friday, 10 May 2013 10:21
Webb outlines pension bill reforms and plans consultancy charging ban
Pensions Minister Steve Webb MP has published proposals to be included in the Pensions Bill.
The bill, announced on Wednesday, will provide reforms for state and private pensions.
In a Government paper today, Mr Webb announced that he was intending to ban consultancy charging in auto-enrolment schemes.
He said: "Following a thorough review I have concluded that the consultancy charging mechanism is not appropriate in schemes used to comply with employer duties under the Pensions Act 2008.
"I am therefore also announcing the Government's intention to ban consultancy charges in automatic enrolment schemes. This will apply to both occupational and personal pension schemes."
Commenting on the change, Adam Phillips, chair of the FCA Consumer Panel, said: "We were seriously concerned about the potential for these charges to reduce the value of pension savings. Consultancy charging would have taken significant money from member contributions in the first two years of scheme membership. For frequent job changers the impact would have been particularly pernicious as they would have suffered losses every time they joined a new employer's scheme.
"We welcome the Government's action in removing this potential source of serious detriment that could have damaged confidence in pension saving and auto-enrolment."
Furthermore the Government is considering a cap on pension charges following a report by the Office for Fair Trading.
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The main points of the Pension Bill would be to:
• Introduce a single-tier pension to be implemented from April 2016.
• Bring forward to increase in State Pension age to 67 and establish a model for considering future changes in light of increasing life expectancy to maintain the long-term sustainability of the system.
• Provide for a system of automatic transfers of small pension pots, which will reduce the number of dormant pots and make it easier for people to keep track of their pensions savings and secure a better income in retirement;
• Introduce a new statutory objective for the Pensions Regulator to take account of the sustainable growth of employers.
• Reform the existing suite of bereavement benefits to simplify them in line with changes to the State Pension and welfare reform measures.
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The bill, announced on Wednesday, will provide reforms for state and private pensions.
In a Government paper today, Mr Webb announced that he was intending to ban consultancy charging in auto-enrolment schemes.
He said: "Following a thorough review I have concluded that the consultancy charging mechanism is not appropriate in schemes used to comply with employer duties under the Pensions Act 2008.
"I am therefore also announcing the Government's intention to ban consultancy charges in automatic enrolment schemes. This will apply to both occupational and personal pension schemes."
Commenting on the change, Adam Phillips, chair of the FCA Consumer Panel, said: "We were seriously concerned about the potential for these charges to reduce the value of pension savings. Consultancy charging would have taken significant money from member contributions in the first two years of scheme membership. For frequent job changers the impact would have been particularly pernicious as they would have suffered losses every time they joined a new employer's scheme.
"We welcome the Government's action in removing this potential source of serious detriment that could have damaged confidence in pension saving and auto-enrolment."
Furthermore the Government is considering a cap on pension charges following a report by the Office for Fair Trading.
{desktop}{/desktop}{mobile}{/mobile}
The main points of the Pension Bill would be to:
• Introduce a single-tier pension to be implemented from April 2016.
• Bring forward to increase in State Pension age to 67 and establish a model for considering future changes in light of increasing life expectancy to maintain the long-term sustainability of the system.
• Provide for a system of automatic transfers of small pension pots, which will reduce the number of dormant pots and make it easier for people to keep track of their pensions savings and secure a better income in retirement;
• Introduce a new statutory objective for the Pensions Regulator to take account of the sustainable growth of employers.
• Reform the existing suite of bereavement benefits to simplify them in line with changes to the State Pension and welfare reform measures.
• Want to receive a free weekly summary of the best news stories from our website? Just go to home page and submit your name and email address. If you are already logged in you will need to log out to see the e-newsletter sign up. You can then log in again.
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