A major pensions overhaul has been unveiled by the Labour government days before Andy Burnham took office as Prime Minister. Pensions Minister Torsten Bell announced the package of changes in a speech at Mansion House, including new timeframes for several key private workplace pension reforms.
Key deadlines pushed back
Deadlines for a pension superfund regime, the Value for Money framework, and guided retirement have all been delayed under the updated roadmap. These changes will now be overseen by Prime Minister Andy Burnham and Chancellor John Healey.
The roadmap was drawn up by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), HM Treasury, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), and the Pensions Regulator. The government aims to improve the performance of poorly performing funds to boost retirement savings.
Policy documents and reactions
Alongside the amended timetable, ministers put forward policy documents covering defined benefit surplus access, superfunds, and Value for Money. The DWP said in the updated roadmap: “As before, these measures will complement other measures such as Pensions Dashboards and work on non-advised DC transfers to help ensure the pensions eco-system supports positive member outcomes.”
The DWP added: “We recognise there is more to do. The reforms we are putting in place means pensions regulation also needs to evolve so that it provides the right governance, deals with risks in a consolidated market and gets a durable framework in place that strengthens trust and confidence in the system.”
Pensions firm Pension Bee supported the plans but cautioned against further delays. Lisa Picardo, Pension Bee's Chief Business Officer UK, said: "Pension transfers have been broken for too long with savers being blocked from consolidating their own savings and optimising their own retirement outcomes by rules that were designed to protect them but have become a source of harm in their own right." She added: "The DWP must ensure they are not replacing one form of delay with another."
