Workplace pensions are a vital part of the UK economy, providing an essential retirement income for millions of workers and driving growth by investing £2 trillion in the UK economy.
Following the Conservative Party win at the general election, the PLSA challenges the new Government to ensure that everyone achieves a better income in retirement.
The PLSA’s pre-election manifesto called on the next Government to promote better retirement outcomes for millions of UK savers by: carrying out the promise of the previous Government to quickly increase the band of salary on which savings are made; to widen the scope of automatic enrolment so it includes more people on low earnings who have multiple jobs; and by 2030 to increase total contributions to 12% with half from the employer.
The new Government must also ensure that a non-commercial Pensions Dashboard hosted by the Money and Pensions Service is set up, and that no others are allowed to operate until a full consumer protection regime is put in place.
We look forward to consulting with the Government when it launches a review into the problems faced by people who earn between £10,000 and £12,500 and who pay into a pension – known as net pay/relief-at-source. This issue could be easily fixed by HMRC altering its IT system.
The Government’s commitment to maintaining the Triple Lock for State Pensions will secure increases that help everyone achieve a better income in retirement by bringing pensioners closer to the PLSA’s Retirement Living Standard minimum value of £10,200 for a single person.
We welcome the Government’s commitment to put in place the right funding regime for defined benefit schemes (backed by appropriate regulatory powers) and to facilitate new large-scale schemes that both provide better protection for savers and more help for employers.
Nigel Peaple, Director of Policy & Research, PLSA said: “I congratulate Prime Minister Boris Johnson on his election win and look forward to his Government’s renewed energy to reform pensions so that everyone has a better income in retirement.
“Ensuring adequate contributions, fostering effective engagement and allowing well-run schemes to operate at appropriate scale provides the blueprint for making the greatest difference to the greatest number of people. We must get on with improving the system.”
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