The government has opened an inquiry into the changing pensions landscape and the progress of pension auto-enrolment since it was launched two years ago.
In a parliamentary statement, the department for work and pensions select committee has called on the public to discuss reactions to the ‘changed context’ of plans to amend pension taxation and ending the need to annuitise, which were announ-ced in this year’s budget.
It also wants to investigate the effect of defined ambition schemes, where there will be greater risk-sharing between employers and employees – and collective pension schemes.
The inquiry will also explore the success of extending auto-enrolment to smaller firms, as well as the trend towards extending working lives.
The inquiry, chaired by Dame Anne Begg, will assess progress since the Committee’s 2012 report called for the government and regulators to assist small and medium-sized companies in setting up governance committees, to ensure members of small schemes do not suffer compared to larger contract-based schemes.
Since 2012, millions of workers have been auto-enrolled into workplace pension schemes for the first time. Figures from the Pensions Regulator in August show that 21,000 employers registered by July 2014, enrolling 4,032,000 eligible jobholders into a pensions-saving scheme.
Employers were required to establish a pension scheme for their staff and make a contribution to each employee’s pension.
Initially, it only involved the largest employers, but all current employers will have to enrol staff in a pension scheme by 2017.
What next?
Submissions of less than 3,000 words are being sought by 17 October.
Adviser view
Andrew Wilson, head of investment for national advisory firm Towry, said: “The government can do things more deeply and less broadly to help the genuinely vulnerable in society, but we need more self-reliance as we cannot rely on government when it comes to pensions. There has been so much tinkering; for instance, the NHS’s pension has been interfered with by government, so you cannot rely on the state.”
