An article highlighted the importance of herd behaviour in explaining the recent shift by employers from defined-benefit to defined-contribution pension schemes.
Source: Paul Bridgen and Traute Meyer, 'When do benevolent capitalists change their mind? Explaining the retrenchment of defined-benefit pensions in Britain': Subtitle, Social Policy and Administration, Volume 39 Number 7
Links: Abstract
Date: 2005-Dec
A survey found that 8.3 million people were not saving anything at all for their retirement - 31 per cent of the working population. A further 3.8 million were not saving enough.
Source: The State of the Nation s Savings 2005, Association of British Insurers (020 7600 3333)
Links: Report | ABI press release
Date: 2005-Dec
A think-tank report said that tax rises were the wrong solution to the long-term pensions crisis. A better solution was to restore incentives to save and to work later in life, including significant income tax reductions for older workers.
Source: Nick Bosanquet, Derek Scott, Andrew Haldenby and Corin Taylor, Reforming Pensions, Reform (020 7799 6699)
Links: Report | Reform press release
Date: 2005-Dec
A paper said that replacing the Minimum Income Guarantee with the Pension Credit had led to an additional 0.5-1.4 per cent of the population choosing to work between ages 60 and 64.
Source: James Sefton, Justin van de Ven, and Martin Weale, The Effects of Means-Testing Pensions on Savings and Retirement, Discussion Paper 265, National Institute for Economic and Social Research (020 7654 1901)
Links: Discussion paper | Summary
Date: 2005-Dec
A think-tank report outlined a model of how pension compulsion could be practically applied, greatly reducing inequalities in pension provision and meeting the goal of providing comfort in retirement.
Source: What If: A UK model for compulsory pensions, Social Market Foundation (020 7222 7060)
Links: Report
Date: 2005-Nov
A report evaluated the effectiveness of four different ways of providing pensions information and advice in the workplace.
Source: John Leston and Margaret Watmough, Providing Pensions Information and Advice in the Workplace Where There is Little or No Employer Contribution: Pilot evaluation findings based on survey and qualitative research, Research Report 294, CDS/Department for Work and Pensions (0113 399 4040)
Links: Report | Summary | DWP press release
Date: 2005-Nov
A report examined the role played by financial intermediaries (advisers employed by banks, building societies, and insurance companies) in the provision of advice on saving for retirement. Financial intermediaries felt that by far the biggest barrier to the take-up of personal pensions among people on lower incomes was inertia, underpinned by a loss of confidence in the pensions industry.
Source: Elaine Kempson and Sharon Collard, Advice on Pensions and Saving for Retirement: Qualitative research with financial intermediaries, Research Report 289, CDS/Department for Work and Pensions (0113 399 4040)
Links: Report | Summary | DWP press release
Date: 2005-Nov
A report evaluated the effectiveness of the combined pension forecast scheme, under which the government worked with employers and pension providers, on a voluntary basis, to supply forecasts of an individual s state pension.
Source: Graham Kelly, Warren Linsdell and Dawn Scanlon, Combined Pension Forecasts: A survey of their impact on recipients, Research Report 293, CDS/Department for Work and Pensions (0113 399 4040)
Links: Report | Summary | DWP press release
Date: 2005-Nov
A study reportedly found that raising the state pension age to 67 would cost employers an extra 4 billion a year in additional absenteeism costs - because older workers took more time off due to ill-health.
Source: Study by Les Mayhew (CASS Business School), reported in The Guardian, 24 November 2005
Links: Guardian report
Date: 2005-Nov
A think-tank report outlined the key questions that needed to be debated in the light of the Pensions Commission final report.
Source: Peter Robinson, After Turner: Creating a sustainable pensions settlement, Institute for Public Policy Research (020 7470 6100)
Links: Report
Date: 2005-Nov
A report highlighted the uncertainty in the cost of future pension provision under existing policy; how future pension reform could be paid for; and how the pensions income distribution could change.
Source: Adam Steventon, What will Pensions Cost In Future?, Pensions Policy Institute (020 7848 3744)
Links: Report | PPI press release
Date: 2005-Nov
A report examined how the state and private pension systems affected women, how these systems had provided for women, and what could be expected in the future. It said that inequalities of income in retirement could not be tackled in isolation from inequality during working life.
Source: Women and Pensions: The evidence, Department for Work and Pensions (020 7962 8176)
Links: Report | DWP press release | EOC press release | Guardian report
Date: 2005-Nov
A study found that 20 per cent of working adults (aged 18-54) expected the basic state pension to be a main source of income in retirement. This was more likely to be the case for women (24 per cent, compared to 16 per cent of men). However, 22 per cent said that they did not know how much the current basic state pension was for a single person, per week.
Source: Press release 19 November 2005, MORI Social Research Institute (020 7347 3000)
Links: MORI press release
Date: 2005-Nov
The Turner Commission published its final report on pensions reform. Key proposals included: establishing a 'National Pensions Saving Scheme' into which all employees without good existing provision would be automatically enrolled, but with the right to opt out; reforms to the state system, involving a gradual move towards a more generous state pension, with the state pension age also increasing over the long term; measures to improve the position of people with interrupted work records and caring responsibilities; and measures to facilitate later working and flexible retirement for those who wanted it. The Chancellor of the Exchequer reportedly warned other ministers that the Turner proposals would require income tax to be raised by 4 percentage points by 2020.
Source: A New Pension Settlement for the Twenty-First Century, Pensions Commission, TSO (0870 600 5522) | House of Commons Hansard, Debate 30 November 2005, columns 267-284, TSO | The Guardian, 1 December 2005
Links: Report | Summary | Supporting documents (links) | Commission press release | Hansard | DWP press release | TUC press release | CBI press release | EOC press release | ABI press release | IFS press release | Guardian report 1 | Guardian report 2
Date: 2005-Nov
A report evaluated how pension scheme joining techniques worked, and what circumstances might support or enhance their effectiveness. Automatic enrolment could be an effective technique for increasing pension scheme membership.
Source: Sarah Horack and Andrew Wood, An Evaluation of Scheme Joining Techniques in Workplace Pension Schemes with an Employer Contribution, Research Report 292, CDS/Department for Work and Pensions (0113 399 4040)
Links: Report | Summary | DWP press release
Date: 2005-Nov
A report examined the impact of the Pensions Act 2004. It warned that the government might win its battle with employers to ensure they paid employees the defined benefit pensions they had promised to date: but employers might then turn their backs on trust-based occupational pension provision.
Source: Debbie Harrison, Alistair Byrne, Bill Rhodes and David Blake, Pyrrhic Victory?: The unintended consequences of the Pensions Act 2004, Pensions Institute/City University (020 7040 8600)
Links: Report (pdf) | Pensions Institute press release (pdf) | Guardian report
Date: 2005-Oct
A report challenged the idea of a pensions 'crisis'. It said that the so-called 'dependency ratio' was misconceived, and that the number of non-working people was likely to be lower relative to the number of people in work than had been assumed. Rising productivity would offset the effects of an ageing population and make a decent universal state pension practical.
Source: Philip Sadler et al., The Ageing Population, Pensions and Wealth Creation, Tomorrow's Company (020 7021 0549)
Links: Summary (pdf) | Tomorrow's Company press release (pdf)
Date: 2005-Oct
The Rights of Savers Bill (a private member's Bill) was given a second reading. The Bill sought to simplify the pensions system and encourage people to save.
Source: Sir Malcolm Rifkind MP, Rights of Savers Bill, TSO (0870 600 5522) | House of Commons Hansard, Debate 28 October 2005, columns 521-584, TSO
Links: Text of Bill | Hansard | BSA press release
Date: 2005-Oct
An interim report said that a broad consensus had been found on the objectives of pension reform, even if views differed on exactly how to achieve them. The state was likely to remain the major provider of retirement income; working longer would play a part in increasing retirement income; and gender equality in retirement income was a critical part of pension reform.
Source: Press release 20 October 2005, Pensions Policy Institute (020 7848 3744)
Links: PPI press release (pdf)
Date: 2005-Oct
A paper examined the cost of three alternative state pension reform options: a state pension of 82 per week, or 16 per cent of national average earnings; a universal pension at the existing level of the guarantee credit of 109 per week, or 21 per cent of average earnings; or increasing the basic state pension to the level of the guarantee credit.
Source: The Cost of Alternative State Pension Reform Options, Pensions Policy Institute (020 7848 3744)
Links: Paper (pdf)
Date: 2005-Oct
A paper tested the feasibility of individual saving as a solution to the pensions crisis. The introduction of typical risks (such as care responsibilities, unemployment, early retirement) to individual life biographies, and the use of an adequacy standard based on relative poverty, significantly increased the rate of saving required to secure an adequate income in retirement in comparison with the savings rates outlined by the government.
Source: Paul Bridgen and Traute Meyer, Towards a Balanced Approach to Pensions Reform?: Individuals, the state and employers in the restructuring of post-retirement income in the UK, Pensions Institute/City University (020 7040 8600)
Links: Discussion paper (pdf)
Date: 2005-Oct
A report said that women were failing to adequately save for a pension, and millions faced poverty in retirement.
Source: What Women Want: Pensions designed for the lives they lead, Scottish Widows plc (0131 655 6000)
Links: Report (pdf) | Scottish Widows press release (pdf) | Guardian report
Date: 2005-Oct
A new publication from the Office for National Statistics. provided a statistical backdrop to the debate on pensions, bringing together existing statistics from a range of sources to illustrate the economic and social issues that shaped trends in pension provision.
Source: Pauline Penneck and Di Lewis (eds.), Pension Trends, Number 1 2005 edition, Office for National Statistics (0845 601 3034)
Links: Report (pdf) | ONS press release (pdf)
Date: 2005-Oct
A trade union report said that the government should not increase tax incentives for individuals and companies to make proper pensions provision. Introducing further incentives would not only fail to end the pensions crisis but would also increase inequalities by providing extra help for the well-off.
Source: Expensive, Ineffective and Unequal: Why incentives aren't the answer to the pensions crisis, Trades Union Congress (020 7467 1294)
Links: Report (Word file) | TUC press release
Date: 2005-Oct
The government and public sector trade unions agreed a set of framework principles that would be applied to the reform of public sector pension schemes in health, education and the civil service. The normal pension age for new entrants would be increased from 60 to 65: but existing employees would retain their right to retire at 60.
Source: Press release 18 October 2005, Department of Trade and Industry (020 7215 5000)
Links: DTI press release | Framework | TUC press release | PCS press release | Guardian report
Date: 2005-Oct
A study found that employees had a strong desire for more information and advice about pensions, ideally on a face-to-face basis.
Source: Alistair Byrne and Bill Rhodes, Employee Attitudes to Pensions: Evidence from focus groups, Pensions Institute/City University (020 7040 8600)
Links: Discussion paper (pdf)
Date: 2005-Oct
A think-tank report said that the vast majority of the next generation of pensioners (in England) would have resources in excess of the adequacy benchmarks typically used in the policy debate: but many might not get as much private pension income as they expected.
Source: James Banks, Carl Emmerson, Zo Oldfield and Gemma Tetlow, Prepared for Retirement?: The adequacy and distribution of retirement resources in England, Institute for Fiscal Studies (020 7291 4800)
Links: Report (pdf) | IFS press release (pdf)
Date: 2005-Oct
A small-scale qualitative study looked at attitudes towards retirement saving among employers with fewer than five members of staff. There was little evidence of participants providing workplace pensions, information or guidance for their staff.
Source: James Noble, Micro-employers Attitudes Towards Pensions for Themselves and Their Employees: A report on small-scale qualitative research with employers, Research Report 266, CDS/Department for Work and Pensions (0113 399 4040)
Links: Report (pdf) | Summary (pdf) | DWP press release
Date: 2005-Oct
A think-tank pamphlet said that there was no need to raise taxes to deal with a supposed 'pensions problem'. There was a problem of inequality in the distribution of wealth and incomes in retirement: but that was separate from the question of the adequacy of the nation s savings. A reformed national insurance scheme was proposed.
Source: Tim Congdon, Providing for Pensions Savings in a Free Society, Politeia (020 7240 5070)
Links: Summary
Date: 2005-Sep
A paper provided a commentary on the key points that had arisen in the pension reform debate.
Source: A Commentary on the Pension Reform Debate, Pensions Policy Institute (020 7848 3744)
Links: Paper (pdf)
Date: 2005-Sep
During the period October 2003 to September 2004 just under 5 per cent of pension credit was wrongly paid.
Source: Fraud and Error in Pension Credit from October 2003 to September 2004, Department for Work and Pensions (020 7962 8176)
Links: Report (pdf) | DWP press release | Guardian report
Date: 2005-Sep
A report said that introducing a 'citizen s pension' (a universal, flat-rate state pension) would mean that over 10 million fewer future pensioners would need to claim means-tested benefits.
Source: Towards a Citizen s Pension: Final report, National Association of Pension Funds (020 7808 1300)
Links: Report (pdf) | Appendix (pdf)
Date: 2005-Sep
An article described the progress made in official surveys of pension funds and insurance companies. It updated the estimates of pension contributions first published in 2004, and explained how the new estimates and methodological improvements had been incorporated in the national accounts dataset.
Source: Pauline Penneck and Geoff Tily, 'Private pension contributions: updated estimates 1996-2004 ', Economic Trends, September 2005, Office for National Statistics, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Article (pdf)
Date: 2005-Sep
The pension scheme regulator said that there was a "mixed picture" of standards of governance and administration amongst occupational pension schemes. Only 3 per cent of large schemes said that trustees were not provided with training, compared to 23 per cent of medium sized schemes and 62 per cent of small schemes.
Source: The Occupational Pension Schemes Regulatory Survey 2004, Pensions Regulator (01273 811800)
Links: Summary (pdf) | Pensions Regulator press release
Date: 2005-Sep
Three linked reports examined risk sharing and hybrid pension plans compared to traditional final salary defined benefit, and pure defined contribution, plans.
Source: Kevin Wesbroom and Tim Reay, Risk Sharing and Hybrid Pension Plans: UK and international experience, Research Report 271, CDS/Department for Work and Pensions (0113 399 4040) | Deborah Cooper, Comparing Pension Outcomes from Hybrid Schemes, Research Report 269, CDS/Department for Work and Pensions | David McCarthy, The Optimal Allocation of Pension Risks in Employment Contracts, Research Report 272, CDS/Department for Work and Pensions
Links: Report 271 (pdf) | Report 269 (pdf) | Report 272 (pdf) | Summary (pdf) | DWP press release (pdf)
Date: 2005-Aug
A survey found strong support for radical reform of the pension system, with an increased role for the state and increased compulsion for individuals to pay into a state-run scheme.
Source: Citizens Jury on Pensions Reform, Age Concern England (020 8765 7200)
Links: Report (pdf) | Age Concern press release
Date: 2005-Aug
The financial services regulator published a report showing that millions of people who contracted out of the state second pension scheme (SERPS or S2P) into a private pension would be worse off in retirement than if they had remained in it.
Source: Oxford Actuaries and Consultants, Contracting out of SERPS/S2P to an Appropriate Personal Pension: A quantification of relative impact, Financial Services Authority (0845 608 2372)
Links: Report (pdf) | Summary | Observer report
Date: 2005-Aug
A consumer group said that an estimated 4.5 million people who contracted out of the state second pension (SERPS or S2P) into a personal pension looked likely to get less than they would have done had they stayed in the scheme.
Source: Press release 17 August 2005, Consumers' Association (020 7770 7000)
Links: Which? press release
Date: 2005-Aug
A memorandum of understanding was published between the Department for Work and Pensions, the Pensions Regulator, and the Pension Protection Fund. It set out the role of each body, and explained how they would work together towards the common objective of improving pension security. (The Pension Protection Fund and the Pensions Regulator were established by the Pensions Act 2004 and began operating in April 2005.)
Source: Memorandum of Understanding between the Department for Work and Pensions, the Pensions Regulator and the Pension Protection Fund, Department for Work and Pensions (020 7962 8176)
Links: Memorandum (pdf) | DWP press release
Date: 2005-Jul
An article considered whether the government's reforms of the three pillars of pension provision ? state, occupational and personal ? were capable of delivering greater security.
Source: Patrick Ring, 'Security in pension provision: a critical analysis of UK government policy', Journal of Social Policy, Volume 34 Issue 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2005-Jul
A think-tank report said that there was too little consensus for major reform of pension provision to last; that an increased basic state pension could provide the foundation for a broader reform package; and that the 'confused' compulsion controversy distracted from more important issues.
Source: Richard Brooks and John Denham, The Politics of Pensions Reform, Fabian Society (020 7227 4900)
Links: Fabian Society press release | DWP press release
Date: 2005-Jul
A paper provided a detailed analysis of individuals in households in England aged between 50 and the state pension age, in terms of their private pension arrangements and current non-pension assets alongside their expectations of future economic circumstances. It was found that inequalities in different dimensions of retirement resources tended to reinforce rather than offset each other.
Source: James Banks, Carl Emmerson and Zo? Oldfield, Preparing for Retirement: The pension arrangements and retirement expectations of those approaching state pension age in England, Working Paper W05/13, Institute for Fiscal Studies (020 7291 4800)
Links: Paper (pdf) | Abstract
Date: 2005-Jul
The government published an updated national strategy report to the European Commission on progress since 2002 in achieving adequate and sustainable pensions.
Source: United Kingdom National Strategy Report on Adequate and Sustainable Pensions: An update report to the European Commission on the UK?s progress since 2002, Department for Work and Pensions (020 7962 8176)
Links: Report (pdf) | Hansard
Date: 2005-Jul
A trade union report said that maintaining the state pension age at 65 ? even with more generous pensions ? was easily affordable if the government met its employment target of 80 per cent of those of working age in paid jobs.
Source: The Eighty Per Cent Solution, Trades Union Congress (020 7467 1294)
Links: Report (pdf) | TUC press release
Date: 2005-Jul
Research found an "alarming" lack of awareness on pensions among women, with most lacking a reasonable basic knowledge. Most non-working women with caring responsibilities ? those most likely to find themselves without even the full basic state pension ? had little or no knowledge of pensions.
Source: Karen Bunt and Fiona McAndrew, Women?s Attitudes Towards Pension Reform, Working Paper 38, Equal Opportunities Commission (0161 833 9244)
Links: Report (pdf) | EOC press release
Date: 2005-Jul
A think-tank report said that the public did not accept the fact that life expectancy was increasing; and they mistrusted government, the financial services industry and employers on the subject of pensions. At some time between 2020 and 2030 the age when the state pension was first received should rise to 67.
Source: Peter Robinson, Working Later: Raising the effective age of retirement, Institute for Public Policy Research, available from Central Books (0845 458 9911)
Links: IPPR press release | Help the Aged press release
Date: 2005-Jul
Researchers explored the roles, views and experiences of those who had acted as representatives for pensioners in their dealings with the Pension Service.
Source: Helen Barnard and Karen Whiting, Representing Pensioners, Research Report 248, CDS/Department for Work and Pensions (0113 399 4040)
Links: Report (pdf) | Summary (pdf)
Date: 2005-Jun
An article examined recent quantitative and qualitative evidence on trust in state and non-state pensions. Social divisions remained important in determining how active trust operated in practice. More vulnerable groups put their trust in the state, through lack of an alternative; whereas more confident and better-off groups tended to pursue investment strategies which they believed would give them more individual control over their money.
Source: Peter Taylor-Gooby, 'Uncertainty, trust and pensions: the case of the current UK reforms', Social Policy and Administration, Volume 39 Number 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2005-Jun
A paper proposed an improved basic state pension, which would rise by an amount significantly in excess of inflation, and an additional government-sponsored savings account into which ?1,000 per year would be paid out of national insurance revenues. On retirement, the account would purchase a pension. A gradual withdrawal from means-testing would allow the barriers to increased voluntary savings to be significantly reduced while still protecting the poorest pensioners.
Source: UK State Pension Reform: Some thoughts and ideas on transition, PricewaterhouseCoopers (020 7583 5000)
Links: Paper (pdf) | PWC press release
Date: 2005-Jun
The results were published from the Government Actuary?s twelfth survey of occupational pension schemes, giving details for schemes in 2004. A significant proportion of private-sector defined-benefit schemes were either closed or frozen.
Source: Occupational Pension Schemes 2004: The twelfth survey by the Government Actuary, Government Actuary's Department (020 7211 2600)
Links: Report (pdf) | GAD press release (pdf)
Date: 2005-Jun
Researchers explored how women planned financially for retirement, the decisions they took that affected their financial status in retirement, and the factors that influenced or underpinned them.
Source: Wendy Sykes, Alan Hedges, Helen Finch, Kit Ward and John Kelly, Financial Plans for Retirement: Women?s perspectives, Research Report 247, CDS/Department for Work and Pensions (0113 399 4040)
Links: Report (pdf) | Summary (pdf) | Guardian report
Date: 2005-Jun
A research report explored effective ways of communicating information about pensions and saving for retirement.
Source: Emma Green and Clarissa White, Effective Means of Conveying Messages About Pensions and Saving for Retirement, Research Report 239, CDS/Department for Work and Pensions (0113 399 4040)
Links: Report (pdf) | DWP press release
Date: 2005-Jun
The insurance industry published a strategy for pension reform. It said that there was no single solution to the pension problem. A package of reforms was needed to encourage a new savings culture throughout every part of society.
Source: Serious about Saving, Association of British Insurers (020 7600 3333)
Links: Report (pdf) | ABI press release
Date: 2005-Jun
A think-tank paper addressed a range of questions related to the rebuilding of the voluntary pensions system.
Source: David Coats, A Secure Future for Occupational Pensions? Rebuilding the UK?s occupational pensions system, Work Foundation (0870 165 6700)
Links: Report (pdf) | Summary
Date: 2005-Jun
An article said that the Pension Protection Fund was likely to face many years of low claims, interspersed irregularly with periods of very large claims. There was a significant chance that these claims would be so large that the Fund would default on its liabilities, leaving the government with no option but to bail it out.
Source: David McCarthy and Andrew Neuberger, 'The pension protection fund', Fiscal Studies, Volume 26 Number 2, Institute for Fiscal Studies (020 7291 4800)
Links: Article (pdf) | Abstract
Date: 2005-Jun
A think-tank report proposed an asset levy under which new shares, calculated at 10 per cent of profits annually, would be issued to pension reserve funds to set up a claim on future dividends and finance a new layer of pension provision to all. The funds would be worth ?1 trillion by 2031, generating enough income to plug more than half of the pensions savings deficit identified by the Pension Commission.
Source: Robin Blackburn, Plugging the Gap: How employers can help to fill the pensions deficit, Catalyst, available from Central Books (020 8986 4854)
Links: Report (pdf) | Catalyst press release
Date: 2005-Jun
The government announced plans (in the Queen's speech) for a Draft Pensions Bill. The Draft Bill would be published following the report of the official Pensions Commission, expected in the autumn of 2005.
Source: House of Commons Hansard, Debate 17 May 2005, columns 29-31, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Hansard
Date: 2005-May
A report said that the state pension system in the United Kingdom was relatively cheap and redistributive: but also that it provided one of the lowest retirement incomes.
Source: Pensions at a Glance: Public policies across OECD countries (2005 edition), Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (+33 1 4524 8200)
Links: Summary | OECD press release
Date: 2005-May
A report said that the pension system failed to take account of women s needs or working patterns, and that the least well-off were likely to be hit hardest when the pension age was increased to 65. It called for urgent action to make the system fair.
Source: The Women and Pensions Scandal: A blueprint for reform, Age Concern England (020 8765 7200) and Fawcett Society
Links: Report
Date: 2005-Apr
A think-tank paper argued in favour of replacing the existing state pension system, over a 10-year transition period, with a single, residency-based pension, set at a level sufficient to make any other pension arrangement genuinely optional.
Source: John Godfrey, Surviving the 'Dogfood Years': Solutions to the pensions crisis, Centre for the Study of Financial Innovation, available from Central Books (0845 458 9910)
Links: CSFI press release (pdf)
Date: 2005-Apr
A briefing note examined the policies on pensions and savings set out by the main parties in their general election manifestos.
Source: Carl Emmerson, Gemma Tetlow and Matthew Wakefield, Pension and Saving Policy, Election Briefing Note 12, Institute for Fiscal Studies (web publication only)
Links: Briefing Note (pdf)
Date: 2005-Apr
The government offered to re-open discussions with trade unions over its proposed reforms to public service workers' pensions, in order to avoid 'misunderstandings and suspicions' of the plans. Planned strikes were called off.
Source: Press release 18 March 2005, Department for Work and Pensions (020 7712 2171)
Links: DWP press release | TUC press release | UNISON press release | PCS press release | Guardian report
Date: 2005-Mar
A series of articles examined the issue of pensions reform.
Source: Fiscal Studies, Volume 26 Number 1, Institute for Fiscal Studies (020 7291 4800)
Links: Table of contents
Date: 2005-Mar
A report said that many finance directors of small- and medium-sized companies were sceptical of the benefits of providing pensions for their employees, and deliberately structured their pension schemes to avoid high participation rates.
Source: Alistair Byrne, David Blake and Debbie Harrison, Barriers to Pension Scheme Participation in Small- and Medium-sized Enterprises, Pensions Institute/City University (020 7040 8600)
Links: Report (pdf)
Date: 2005-Mar
The government began consultation on proposals to allow contracted-out benefits to be paid as part of a cash lump sum.
Source: Consultation on Draft Regulations: The Occupational and Personal Pension Schemes (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2005 and The Personal Pension Schemes (Appropriate Schemes) (Amendment) Regulations 2005, Department for Work and Pensions (020 7962 8176)
Links: Consultation document (pdf) | DWP press release
Date: 2005-Mar
A think-tank report said that the system of retirement income provision was so mired in complexity that nothing less than wholesale change was needed. It proposed a 'holistic' approach to pension reform that took proper account of the interaction between pensions, tax, social security, and financial regulation.
Source: Philip Booth and Deborah Cooper, The Way Out of the Pensions Quagmire, Institute of Economic Affairs (020 7799 8900)
Links: Report (pdf) | Summary
Date: 2005-Mar
Researchers said that sales of personal and stakeholder pensions were linked to whether people had an accurate understanding of how much longer they had to live. But people tended to underestimate the true figure by over 5 years (over 4.5 years for men, nearly 6 years for women).
Source: Chris O'Brien, Paul Fenn, Stephen Diacon, How Long Do People Expect To Live?, Research Report 2005-1, Centre for Risk and Insurance Studies/Nottingham University Business School (0115 846 6519)
Links: Report (pdf) | IOA press release (pdf) | Guardian report
Date: 2005-Mar
A think-tank paper made proposals for pensions reform, based upon an extension of state provision as the most inclusive and redistributive form of 'compulsion' available.
Source: Neil Churchill and Michelle Mitchell, Labour s Pension Challenge: Building a progressive settlement, Catalyst, available from Central Books (020 8986 4854)
Links: Summary
Date: 2005-Mar
A report summarized calls to a national helpline designed to help women better understand their pension position. 7 out of 10 callers were not making any private pension savings to supplement their state pension entitlement. 80 per cent of these callers were over 50. Many women cited the complexities of the state system as a particular source of confusion.
Source: Report on Women and Pensions Helpline, Pensions Advisory Service (020 7233 8016)
Links: Report (pdf) | PAS press release (Word file)
Date: 2005-Mar
A report said that stakeholder pensions had improved incentives for some groups to save in private pensions, and this had offset a general downwards trend in private pension coverage. The largest impact seemed to have been on those with low earnings, rather than the middle earners who were the primary target group for the policy.
Source: Woojin Chung, Richard Disney, Carl Emmerson and Matthew Wakefield, Public Policy and Saving for Retirement: Evidence from the introduction of stakeholder pensions in the UK, Institute for Fiscal Studies (020 7291 4800)
Links: Report (pdf) | IFS press release (pdf)
Date: 2005-Mar
The government set out six principles to underpin reform of state and private pensions: the pensions system should tackle poverty effectively; the opportunity to build an adequate retirement income should be open for all; affordability and economic stability should be maintained; the pensions system should produce fair outcomes for women and carers; reform should seek to establish a system that people understood; and reform should be based around as broad a consensus as possible.
Source: Principles for Reform: The National Pensions Debate, Department for Work and Pensions (020 7962 8176)
Links: Report (pdf) | DWP press release | Age Concern press release | TUC press release | Mercer press release
Date: 2005-Feb
A think-tank report argued that two simple schemes should replace existing incentives to encourage savings. The 'Before Tax Scheme' would allow savers to save income free of income tax, and pay it when they withdrew money. The 'After Tax Scheme' would allow savers to save out of tax-paid income and withdraw without further tax liability. Savings would gain, as savers would save what and when they wished - without the costs, complexity and penalties they faced under existing arrangements.
Source: Charles Jackson, Saving Savings: How to promote personal investment, Politeia (020 7240 5070)
Links: Politeia press release (Word file)
Date: 2005-Feb
A paper said that pension fund trustees who were also company directors tended to act in the interests of shareholders rather than scheme beneficiaries.
Source: Jo o Cocco and Paolo Volpin, The Corporate Governance of Defined Benefit Pension Plans: Evidence from the United Kingdom, DP4932, Centre for Economic Policy Research (020 7878 2900)
Links: Paper (pdf)
Date: 2005-Feb
An article discussed the nature of trust and its importance for pensions policy. Trust in the financial services sector had suffered in the face of a 'pensions crisis'. The government's response involved empowering consumers through education, information and pensions simplification: but this approach was likely to fail many. The government needed to focus on rebuilding trust in its own ability to manage long-term pensions policy: this should involve a greater role for government as a provider, but in any event the first step was a meaningful dialogue with the public.
Source: Patrick Ring, 'Trust in UK pensions policy: a different approach?', Policy & Politics, Volume 33 Number 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2005-Jan
A report said that employers were not doing enough to encourage workers to join company pension schemes. 30 per cent of non-members surveyed said they had not joined the company pension scheme when they started work, and had never been asked again.
Source: Labour Research Department, To Save or Not to Save: Workers pensions and provision for retirement, Age Concern England (020 8765 7200)
Links: Report (pdf) | Age Concern press release
Date: 2005-Jan
Consultation began over plans to overhaul pension arrangements in the National Health Service, which included the prospect of staff seeing their final salary pension scheme replaced by one that paid a 'career average' pension on retirement. The proposed new scheme would provide a higher accrual rate, but with benefits paid at age 65 rather than 60.
Source: Moving to a 21st Century Pension Scheme, NHS Employers (020 7074 3200)
Links: Consultation document (pdf) | Summary (pdf) | NHS Employers press release | Guardian report
Date: 2005-Jan
Research found clear class differences between those on middle and lower incomes in their attitudes to pensions provision. Middle-income earners felt able to manage their savings in ways that would give them a measure of control for example by buying property, or reducing uncertainties by enforcing their pension rights. Lower-income groups on the other hand (especially women) felt they could only manage their uncertainty by trusting the government to provide for their basic needs.
Source: Peter Taylor-Gooby, Public Expectations of Pensions Provision, Actuarial Profession (formerly Institute of Actuaries) (01865 268205)
Links: Report (pdf) | Actuarial Profession press release
Date: 2005-Jan