“The recommendations made today by the Work and Pensions Committee in its report, in respect of the underlying processes, are therefore sensible and overdue. In particular, the dual recommendations of a single regulator for pensions and the creation of a new independent pensions commission, which should together address a perennial curse for the provision of income in retirement.
“Not for a generation has there been such a critical need for workplace pensions issues to be consistently and thoughtfully addressed.
“There are crucial pensions-related decisions looming for consideration in the next parliament, including a review of tax relief that appears to be on the agenda of each of the main parties, the need to build on the successes of the early stages of automatic enrolment to increase the amounts of money being saved, and the critical early years implementation of the new retirement freedoms.
“During the current parliament the policy side has been more consistent, thanks to there being a single Pensions Minister throughout. As the general election approaches, the oft-claimed broad political consensus on policy seems to be disintegrating, leading to concerns that the past five years has merely been a blip in the long-term practice of subjecting pensions to party political doctrine. If the predictions of a hung parliament are borne out, the prospects for stability in pensions policy appear even more remote.
“On the regulatory point, it makes little sense to have the role split between several bodies. We understand the logic that since 1988 has divided responsibility between products that are sold to individual consumers and those that are provided as part of the workplace pension structure. However, the subsequent breaking down of those distinctions that has occurred, and the further changes coming under the Freedom and Choice agenda in April, render them increasingly arbitrary and at odds with the broad approach now needed to retirement funding.”
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