A study examined the savings decisions of over 25,000 workers, and the factors that influenced participation in pension saving. A linked discussion paper explored some of the policy implications of the findings.
Source: Mark Bryan, Birgitta Rabe, Mark Taylor, and James Lloyd, Who Saves for Retirement?, Strategic Society Centre | James Lloyd, The Science of Saving: Pensions, Strategic Society Centre
Links: Report | Discussion paper | ISER press release
Date: 2011-Dec
A report said that there was a 'gulf in understanding' concerning pensions across the genders. Men were more aware than women of how much their pension was worth, how much income they would have in retirement, and whether they would be able to retire early.
Source: Pensions: The Root Problem, Friends Life
Links: Report | Friends Life press release
Date: 2011-Dec
A study provided an overview of the different pension systems across European Union member states and described contingent liabilities and assets in the public and private sectors.
Source: Werner Eichhorst, Connie Nielsen, Maarten Gerard, Gerhard Runstler, Michael Kendzia, Thomas Url, and Christine Mayrhuber, Pension Systems in the EU: Contingent liabilities and assets in the public and private sector, Research Report 42, Institute for the Study of Labor (Bonn)
Links: Report
Date: 2011-Dec
The coalition government began consultation on proposals to: protect the pension pots of people who moved jobs often, by abolishing short service refunds for defined-contribution occupational schemes; and tackle the complexities that made it difficult for people to transfer pension pots accumulated throughout their careers into a single pension.
Source: Meeting Future Workplace Pension Challenges: Improving transfers and dealing with small pension pots, Cm 8184, Department for Work and Pensions, TSO
Links: Consultation document | Hansard | DWP press release | TUC press release
Date: 2011-Dec
A series of annual reports summarized policy developments in European countries in the fields of pensions, healthcare, and long-term care. The United Kingdom report said that the existing structure of the pension system led to undersaving by a substantial proportion of the population; described the coalition government's plans for National Health Service reform as a 'big gamble' in the face of opposition from core stakeholders; and said that the social care system was in 'urgent need of reform'.
Source: Martin Seeleib-Kaiser, Pensions, Health Care and Long-term Care: United Kingdom Annual Report 2011, Analytic Support on the Socio-Economic Impact of Social Protection Reforms – Expert Network (European Commission)
Links: UK report | 2011 reports (links)
Date: 2011-Dec
The coalition government published its 2011 Autumn Statement on the economy and public finances. Economic growth would be significantly lower than previous expectations in 2012 and 2013. Unemployment was forecast to increase to 8.7 per cent in 2012, compared with 8.1 per cent in 2011. Public sector borrowing would be around £20-30 billion higher in every year between 2012-13 and 2015-16 compared with the 2011 Budget forecast. A planned £110 above-inflation increase to the child element of the child tax credit would be scrapped, and the couple and lone parent elements of the working tax credit would not be uprated in 2012-13 – leading to an increase of 100,000 children in poverty by 2012-13. The state pension age would be raised to 67 between April 2026 and April 2028 (rather than by 2036). Additional funding would allow free childcare places to be extended to 120,000 additional disadvantaged children aged 2. An extra £600 million would be provided to create a further 100 'free' schools, and £600 million would be given to areas with the greatest pressure on school places.
Source: Autumn Statement 2011, Cm 8231, HM Treasury, TSO
Links: Report | Hansard | HMT press release | DBIS/HMT press release | HOC research brief | Conservative Party press release | Green Party press release | Labour Party press release | Barnardos press release | CBI press release | Citizens Advice press release | CPAG press release | CSJ press release | ECP press release | EDCM press release | Fawcett Society press release | Institute for Government press release | IPPR briefing | NAPF press release | Scope press release | TUC press release | BBC report | Guardian report (1) | Guardian report (2) | Guardian report (3) | Guardian report (4) | Guardian report (5) | Professional Pensions report | Public Finance report
Date: 2011-Nov
The Pensions Act 2011 was given Royal assent. The Act required employers to provide employees with a workplace pension plan or enrol them in the National Employment Savings Trust. It also brought forward an increase in state pension age to 66 by 2020, and aligned women's state pension age with men's (at 65) by 2018.
Source: Pensions Act 2011, Department for Work and Pensions, TSO
Links: Act | Explanatory notes
Date: 2011-Nov
A new book examined the measurement of public pension liabilities in the European Union. Due to demographic developments, pension systems organized on a pay-as-you-go principle would be forced to either raise contribution rates/taxes or shorten future replacement rates – or both.
Source: Olaf Weddige, Measuring Public Pension Liabilities in the European Union , Peter Lang
Links: Summary
Date: 2011-Nov
An article examined the effect of different assumptions about future trends in life expectancy on the sustainability of the pensions and long-term care systems.
Source: Juliette Malley, Ruth Hancock, Mike Murphy, John Adams, Raphael Wittenberg, Adelina Comas-Herrer, Chris Curry, Derek King, Sean James, Marcello Morciano, and Linda Pickard, 'The effect of lengthening life expectancy on future pension and long-term care expenditure in England, 2007 to 2032', Health Statistics Quarterly 52, Winter 2011, Office for National Statistics
Links: Article
Date: 2011-Nov
An article examined the implications of removing the requirement to annuitize private pension funds by the age of 75. The government would need to ensure that people had access to advice and information allowing them to understand the potential benefits and risks involved.
Source: Daniela Silcock, 'What are the implications of the UK government's policy to remove the effective requirement to annuitise private pension funds by the age of 75?', Pensions: An International Journal, Volume 16 Issue 4
Links: Abstract
Date: 2011-Nov
A report said that there was strong public support for gradual retirement, but little evidence that it happened in practice on a large scale. It recommended that the government should make the positive case for extending working lives much more strongly, and should consider the introduction of a graduated state pension.
Source: Craig Berry, Gradual Retirement and Pensions Policy, International Longevity Centre – UK
Date: 2011-Nov
A think-tank report examined why the coalition government had been able to abolish the child trust fund, and cancel the roll-out of the saving gateway, at what appeared to be no political cost. It drew out lessons for those interested in creating an 'assets agenda' aimed at tackling inequality and child poverty.
Source: Dalia Ben-Galim, Asset Stripping: Child trust funds and the demise of the assets agenda, Institute for Public Policy Research
Links: Report
Date: 2011-Oct
The coalition government announced a partial retreat over plans (in the Pensions Bill) to raise the state pension age. It said that the Bill would be amended so that the pension age would be raised to 66 by October 2020, instead of April 2020. As a result, women who would have seen a 2-year deferral of their state pension age (those born in the period 6 January-5 September 1954) would have their wait reduced to 18 months.
Source: Written Ministerial Statement 13 October 2011, columns 46-48WS, House of Commons Hansard, TSO
Links: Hansard | DWP press release | Labour Party press release | NAPF press release | TAEN press release | TUC press release | Unite press release | BBC report | Guardian report
Date: 2011-Oct
The Pensions Bill was given a third reading. Starting on a phased basis from 1 October 2012, employers would be required to provide employees with a workplace pension plan or enrol them in the National Employment Savings Trust. The Bill also brought forward an increase in state pension age to 66 by 2020, and the alignment of women's state pension age with men's (at 65) by 2018.
Source: Pensions Bill [HL], Department for Work and Pensions, TSO | Debate 18 October 2011, columns 778-868, House of Commons Hansard, TSO
Links: Bill | Explanatory notes | Hansard | Professional Pensions report
>Date: 2011-Oct
A qualitative study was undertaken to explore people's views about their existing financial situation and standard of living in retirement, and their feelings about their financial future. Respondents tended not to have any concrete plans for the future, with the recurrent view being that they would keep drawing on their existing income and asset streams without any further planning. Reluctance to think about future planning was based on perceived limitations that a fixed retirement income placed on financial planning; a reluctance to think about unpleasant issues that might require planning (especially the deterioration of health); and not seeing the point of planning given that respondents did not know how long they would live.
Source: Mehul Kotecha, Natalie Maplethorpe, Sue Arthur, Naomi Stoll, Rosie Green, Natasha Wood, and David Hussey, Perceptions of Income Requirements in Retirement, Research Report 773, Department for Work and Pensions
Links: Report | Summary | DWP press release
Date: 2011-Sep
A think-tank report said that public sector workers received 'far more generous' pensions than those in the private sector: but the coalition government was being out-manouevred by the trade unions in its negotiations over the future of public sector schemes. It set out plans to bring public and private sector pensions 'into balance', saving taxpayers billions of pounds every year.
Source: Michael Johnson, The £100 Billion Negotiations, Centre for Policy Studies
Links: Report | CPS press release | IOD press release
Date: 2011-Sep
A think-tank report said that the collapse of defined-benefit pension schemes had resulted in less saving, and had also permitted new anti-consumer practices to emerge among pension providers. The result was that, despite conscientiously saving during their working years, millions of people would be far worse off in retirement than they should have been.
Source: Peter Morris and Alasdair Palmer, You're on Your Own: How policy produced Britain's pensions crisis, Civitas
Links: Summary | Civitas press release
Date: 2011-Sep
A think-tank report said that the number of people who were 'under-pensioned' was set to increase. It highlighted the scale and scope of the problem, and offered a range of practical policy solutions.
Source: Rachel Reeves MP (ed.), We Can?t Carry on Like This! Policy solutions for the under-pensioned: perspectives from key players in the sector, Smith Institute
Links: Report
Date: 2011-Sep
A report said that the accounting standards used to calculate companies' pensions assets and liabilities were undermining pensions provision. By valuing assets based on market prices, the standards introduced short-term volatility that was at odds with the long-term nature of pension schemes.
Source: Iain Clacher and Peter Moizer, Accounting for Pensions, Leeds University Business School
Links: Report | NAPF press release
Date: 2011-Sep
An independent commission expressed concern about the charges, risks, and complexity associated with the pension schemes of private sector workers, and said that there was an urgent need for reform. Fee structures were too opaque, and the government should cap the charges allowed under the new auto-enrolment pensions. People were often confused by investment choices, and were at the mercy of stock markets: the government needed to work with the industry to develop new products that helped to mitigate risk, and employers needed to be incentivized to take on a share of pension risk.
Source: Building a Strong, Stable and Transparent Pensions System, Workplace Retirement Income Commission
Links: Report | Commission press release | Labour Party press release | BBC report | Guardian report | Telegraph report
Date: 2011-Aug
An article said that public authorities in Europe Union countries needed to ensure that pension systems, regardless of how they were organized, delivered adequate incomes in old age. The objective of adequacy of pensions systems should receive equal attention to the objective of sustainability and security; and the impact of proposed reforms on vulnerable groups, such as women with career breaks, should be addressed.
Source: Anne-Sophie Parent, 'Can the EU achieve adequate, sustainable and safe pensions for all in the coming decades?', Pensions: An International Journal, Volume 16 Issue 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2011-Aug
The coalition government published the results of consultation on plans to reform the state pension scheme. It said that there had been 'broad support' for the plans.
Source: A State Pension for the 21st Century: A Summary of Responses to the Public Consultation, Cm 8131, Department for Work and Pensions, TSO
Links: Consultation responses | DWP press release | People Management report
Date: 2011-Jul
The consumer rights watchdog highlighted 'serious problems' in the individual personal pensions market. Some consumers were being advised to switch to different pension products, often with higher charges or higher risk.
Source: Prashant Vaze and Rupert Roker, Is It Advisable? An investigation into switching and advice in the individual personal pensions market, Consumer Focus
Links: Report | Consumer Focus press release | Guardian report
Date: 2011-Jul
A paper examined the decline of traditional workplace pensions in developed (OECD) countries, the apparent inadequacy of alternatives such as money-purchase (defined-contribution) schemes, and the rise of government-sponsored savings institutions designed to partially compensate for the decline of workplace pensions.
Source: Gordon Clark, From Corporatism to Public Utilities: Workplace pensions in the 21st century, Working Paper WPG11-08, Centre for Employment, Work and Finance (University of Oxford)
Date: 2011-Jul
A report said that policy-makers needed to find new ways to encourage saving among poorer people, following the abolition by the coalition government of the child trust fund and saving gateway schemes. Many people on low incomes who struggled to save could be encouraged, with the right messages and the right context, to see saving as both affordable and worthwhile.
Source: Andrea Finney and Sara Davies, Towards a Nation of Savers: Understanding and overcoming the challenges to saving on a lower income, Personal Finance Research Centre (University of Bristol)
Links: Report | Summary | Bristol University press release
Date: 2011-Jul
A think-tank report said that the traditional approach to encouraging saving only worked for the those people who were already inclined to save. A matched savings scheme – where the state put in a capped additional amount for every pound paid into a pension – would be more progressive than the existing system, cost-neutral to the taxpayer, and more likely to encourage people to save than offering tax relief on pension contributions.
Source: Jeff Masters and Emily Farchy, Savings on a Shoestring: A whole new approach to savings policy, Social Market Foundation
Links: Report | SMF press release | Professional Pensions report
Date: 2011-Jul
The government published a framework for evaluating the effects of its workplace pension reforms.
Source: Workplace Pension Reforms Evaluation Strategy, Research Report 764, Department for Work and Pensions
Date: 2011-Jul
The coalition government set out details of its plans for cutting public sector pensions. The pension age would rise in tandem with the state pension age, to 66 by 2020 (except for the armed forces, police, and firefighters). Final-salary schemes would end, to be replaced by schemes based on career average earnings. Contributions would rise by an average of 3.2 percentage points, with those earning below £15,000 exempted and those below £18,000 capped at 1.5 percentage points: higher earners would have to pay up to 5 percentage points more.
Source: Speech by Danny Alexander MP (Chief Secretary to the Treasury), 17 June 2011
Links: Speech | ASCL press release | NASUWT press release | NUT press release | PCS press release | TUC press release | Unite press release | Community Care report | Guardian report | Professional Pensions report | Public Finance report | Telegraph report
Date: 2011-Jun
A quantitative survey explored the effect that changing statutory revaluation and indexation from RPI to CPI might have on private sector defined-benefit schemes. The majority of schemes (69 per cent) believed that their funding position would be more secure as a result of the changes, while 15 per cent felt that it would make no difference.
Source: Lorna Adams, Rob Warren, and Alistair Kuechel, Research Exploring the Effect of Uprating by CPI on Occupational Pension Schemes, Working Paper 102, Department for Work and Pensions
Links: Working paper | DWP press release
Date: 2011-Jun
A paper examined the potential impact of the state pension reforms set out in the coalition government's Green Paper. The introduction of a single-tier state pension of around £140 per week could be broadly cost neutral: but it would lead to winners and losers – around 7 million pensioners could see their household pension income increase by 2034, whereas 5 million could see it fall.
Source: Daniela Silcock, Niki Cleal, Chris Curry, Daniel Redwood, and John Adams, An Assessment of the Government's Options for State Pension Reform, Pensions Policy Institute
Links: Paper | PPI press release | Guardian report | Professional Pensions report
Notes: Green Paper (April 2011)
Date: 2011-Jun
An article examined the relationship between gender and private pension provision. There had been an emphasis on neoliberal concerns of private saving and individual responsibility as a means of reducing expenditure and encouraging long-term sustainability: this left many women ill-equipped to save and dependent on means-tested pension provision, largely as a result of intermittent work histories.
Source: Liam Foster, 'Privatisation and pensions: what does this mean for women?', Journal of Poverty and Social Justice, Volume 19 Number 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2011-Jun
Researchers examined the likely responses by the pension industry to forthcoming workplace pension reforms. Providers expected automatic enrolment to lead to increased membership in existing schemes: but they expected newly enrolled savers to be unprofitable, given that they were likely to be the lowest paid.
Source: Andrew Wood, Peggy Young, Dominika Wintersgill, and Naomi Crowther, Likely Industry Responses to the Workplace Pension Reforms: Qualitative research with pension providers and intermediaries, Research Report 753, Department for Work and Pensions
Links: Report | Summary | DWP press release
Date: 2011-Jun
The coalition government responded to the results of a consultation on the impact of using the consumer prices index (CPI) for private sector occupational pension schemes, and whether it should be made easier for schemes to move to CPI. It said that it would not introduce legislation to override existing pension scheme rules.
Source: Government Response to Consultation: The Impact of Using CPI as the Measure of Price Increases on Private Sector Occupational Pension Schemes, Department for Work and Pensions
Links: Response | DWP press release
Notes: Consultation document (December 2010)
Date: 2011-Jun
A report examined the financial and economic circumstances of young people, and the role of behavioural economics in 'nudging' young people towards saving for retirement. It recommended the development and promotion of a savings rule of thumb similar to the '5-a-day' healthy eating message.
Source: Craig Berry, Resuscitating Retirement Saving: How to help today's young people plan for later life, International Longevity Centre – UK
Links: Report | ILC press release | Guardian report | Professional Pensions report
Date: 2011-Jun
The Pensions Bill was given a second reading. Starting from 1 October 2012, employers would be required to provide employees with a workplace pension plan or enrol them in the National Employment Savings Trust. The Bill also brought forward an increase in state pension age to 66 by 2020, and the alignment of women's state pension age with men's (at 65) by 2018. The coalition government insisted that around 500,000 women born in 1953-1954 would have to accept only 7 years' notice of the change to their state pension age.
Source: Pensions Bill [HL], Department for Work and Pensions, TSO | Debate 20 June 2011, columns 41-132, House of Commons Hansard, TSO
Links: Bill | Explanatory notes | Hansard | Guardian report | Professional Pensions report | Telegraph report
Date: 2011-Jun
A paper examined public service pension reform, focusing on the recommendations of the Independent Public Service Pensions Commission.
Source: Tamara Finkelstein and Joe Perkins, Public Service Pension Reform in the United Kingdom, Discussion Paper 512, Institute of Economic Research (Hitotsubashi University, Japan)
Links: Paper
Date: 2011-May
A report by a committee of MPs examined the cost of public service pensions, and the impact of the changes made to public pensions schemes in 2007-08 (under the former Labour government). It called on the coalition government to publish a clear measure or benchmark of affordability, indicating the level of spending on public service pensions that it considered to be sustainable. Officials appeared to define affordability on the basis of 'public perception' rather than a judgement on the cost in relation to either national income or total public spending.
Source: The Impact of the 2007-08 Changes to Public Service Pensions, Thirty-eighth Report (Session 2010-12), HC 833, House of Commons Public Accounts Select Committee, TSO
Links: Report | NAHT press release | NASUWT press release | NUT press release | PCS press release | TUC press release | Public Finance report
Date: 2011-May
A report examined the proposed raising of the state pension age within the broader context of women's pension disadvantage and the gendered impact of public spending cuts.
Source: Jay Ginn, Moving the SPA Goalposts for Women: The broader context, Women's Budget Group
Links: Report
Date: 2011-Apr
The government published a Green Paper on the future of the state pension system. It set out two options for reform, both of which could be delivered on a cost-neutral basis:
The first option would accelerate the pace of existing reforms so that the state second pension would become flat-rate by 2020 instead of the early 2030's. This would give people a clearer idea of the state pension they would get in retirement, as they would receive a set amount of pension for each qualifying year. At the end of transition, all those with a full contribution record would build up the same state pension, estimated at around £140 per week, albeit through two tiers.
The second option would combine the basic state pension and the state second pension into one single-tier state pension. Future pensioners with at least 30 qualifying years would receive the same flat-rate pension, estimated at £140 per week – with this payment being set above the basic level of support provided by pension credit.
Source: A State Pension for the 21st Century, Cm 8053, Department for Work and Pensions, TSO
Links: Green Paper | Hansard | DWP press release | IFS press release | IOD press release | NAPF press release | NPC press release | Professional Pensions report
Date: 2011-Apr
The government responded to the results of a call for evidence on early access to pension savings. Following consideration of the responses, it had concluded that early access to pension savings should not be considered at the present time. There was 'limited' evidence that allowing early access would have a positive effect on overall pension contribution levels or provide significant help to individuals facing financial hardship.
Source: Press release 19 April 2011, HM Treasury
Links: HMT press release | Summary of responses
Notes: Call for evidence
Date: 2011-Apr
A think-tank report said that individual saving accounts (ISAs) had failed to boost the saving ratio, and that most of the tax relief they offered went to people who would have saved anyway. Meanwhile, many low-to-middle income earners had inadequate savings.
Source: Tony Dolphin, Designing a Life-Course Savings Account: How to help low-to-middle income families save more, Institute for Public Policy Research
Links: Report | IPPR press release | Guardian report
Date: 2011-Apr
A paper examined the implications of new legislation ending the effective requirement to purchase an annuity by age 75. The 'vast majority' of people aged between 55 and 75 in 2010 – particularly those on lower earnings with small pension pots – were likely to find that annuitizing was still the safest and most appropriate option for converting their defined-contribution pension savings into a retirement income.
Source: Daniela Silcock, Daniel Redwood, and John Adams, Retirement Income and Assets: The implications of ending the effective requirement to annuitise by age 75, Pensions Policy Institute
Links: Report | PPI press release
Date: 2011-Apr
The Supreme Court ruled that pensioners from other European Union states should not have the right to claim pension credits in the United Kingdom. Although the existing ban on claiming was indirectly discriminatory, the discrimination was a justified response to the legitimate aim of protecting the public purse.
Source: Patmalniece (FC) v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, UKSC 11 (2011), United Kingdom Supreme Court
Links: Judgement | Supreme Court press release
Date: 2011-Mar
Researchers examined the use of vesting rules and default options in occupational pension schemes. Upon leaving a scheme, most employees opted for a short-service refund rather than a transfer into a different pension scheme.
Source: Andrew Wood, Peggy Young, and Dominika Wintersgill, The Use of Vesting Rules and Default Options in Occupational Pension Schemes, Research Report 725, Department for Work and Pensions
Links: Report | DWP press release
Date: 2011-Mar
The final report was published of an independent inquiry (led by John Hutton) into public sector pension arrangements. It set out proposals for 'comprehensive, long-term structural reform'. Existing final-salary schemes would be replaced (by 2015) with new schemes, where an employee's pension entitlement was still linked to their salary (a 'defined-benefit scheme') but was related to their career average earnings, with appropriate adjustments in earlier years so that benefits maintained their value. Normal pension age in most schemes would be tied to the state pension age. A clear cost ceiling would be set for public service pension schemes, limiting the proportion of pensionable pay that taxpayers would contribute.
Source: Final Report, Independent Public Service Pensions Commission
Links: Report | Review press release | Hansard | Conservative Party press release | HOC research note | ACA press release | ASCL press release | ATL press release | BCC press release | BMA press release | CBI press release | CIPD press release | GMB press release | IFS press release | IOD press release | Labour Party press release | LGA press release | NASUWT press release | NPC press release | NUT press release | Police Federation press release | PPI press release | RCM press release | RCN press release | TUC press release | UNISON press release | Unite press release | Voice press release | BBC report | Community Care report | Guardian report | Personnel Today report | Professional Pensions report | Public Finance report
Date: 2011-Mar
A new book examined the varieties of pension governance in ten European countries. It contrasted the experience of developed 'multipillar' systems such as those in the United Kingdom, Denmark, the Netherlands, and Switzerland with the recent shift toward private occupational and personal pensions in Belgium, France, Finland, Germany, Italy, and Sweden.
Source: Bernhard Ebbinghaus (ed.), The Varieties of Pension Governance: Pension privatization in Europe, Oxford University Press
Links: Summary
Date: 2011-Mar
A briefing paper examined the main state pension reforms introduced by the Labour governments (1997-2010), as well as the reform agenda of the new coalition government.
Source: Djuna Thurley, State Pension Reform, Standard Note SN/BT 5787, House of Commons Library
Links: Briefing paper
Date: 2011-Mar
A new book examined why certain European countries had been able to radically transform their pension system while others had simply altered parameters. It contained an extensive comparative analysis of the position in Belgium, France, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.
Source: Patrik Marier, Pension Politics: Consensus and social conflict in ageing societies, Routledge
Links: Summary
Date: 2011-Mar
The European Commission published a summary of the results of a consultation on how the European Union could help to ensure adequate, sustainable, and safe pensions for its citizens.
Source: Summary of Consultation Responses to the Green Paper 'Towards Adequate, Sustainable and Safe European Pension Systems', European Commission
Links: Consultation responses | European Commission press release
Date: 2011-Mar
A new book provided a cross-country comparative analysis of the key issues shaping pension reform in Europe – political games, welfare models and pathways, population reactions, and observed and expected outcomes.
Source: Camila Arza and Martin Kohli (eds.), Pension Reform in Europe: Politics, policies and outcomes, Routledge
Links: Summary
Date: 2011-Mar
A think-tank report said that middle-income households faced the acute risk of a considerable drop in their income on retirement. However, there was a 'window of opportunity' to support middle-aged, middle-income groups either to adjust to lower retirement incomes or to save and avoid seriously diminished living standards. The government should look at guaranteeing minimum annuity rates, providing matching schemes for pension contributions, and improving access to financial advice.
Source: Paola Subacchi, William Jackson, Vanessa Rossi, and Richard Varghese, Squeezed in Retirement: The future of middle Britain, Chatham House
Links: Report | Summary | Telegraph report
Date: 2011-Mar
A report set out a proposal for an asset-based savings account for looked-after children.
Source: On Our Own Two Feet: The case for a savings account scheme for looked after children, Barnardo's/Action for Children
Links: Report | Barnardos press release | Community Care report
Date: 2011-Mar
The government began consultation on options for cutting the pensions of public sector staff when they were compulsorily transferred to a non-public sector employer.
Source: Consultation on the Fair Deal Policy: Treatment of pensions on compulsory transfer of staff from the public sector, HM Treasury
Links: Consultation document | Hansard | HMT press release | TUC press release | Unite press release
Date: 2011-Mar
A report said that the UK (along with other industrialized countries) should make further increases in the state pension age in order to combat the rising costs of pensions provision.
Source: Pensions at a Glance 2011: Retirement-income systems in OECD and G20 countries, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Links: Summary | UK profile | OECD press release | Telegraph report
Date: 2011-Mar
The government announced that it was planning to 'radically simplify' the state pension system, in order to make it easier for people to plan for retirement. The basic state pension and the state second pension would be combined into one flat-rate payment for men and women, and means-tested pension credit would be abolished.
Source: Speech by Iain Duncan Smith MP (Secretary of State for Work and Pensions), 8 March 2011
Links: Speech | Friends Provident press release | BBC report | People Management report | Personnel Today report
Date: 2011-Mar
The 2011 Budget set out proposals to:
Increase the personal income tax allowance by £630 in April 2012, to £8,105.
Make the default indexation for direct taxes the consumer prices index (CPI) rather than the retail prices index (RPI) from April 2012.
Conduct a review of the higher (50 pence) income tax rate.
Bring forward measures to simplify the tax system by consulting on options for integrating income tax and national insurance contributions.
Bring forward a Green Paper on state pension reform, including an option for a single-tier pension of around £140 per week for future pensioners.
Conduct regular, independent reviews to establish longevity rates, which would then be used to determine increases in the state pension age.
Adopt the Hutton report recommendations on cuts to public service pensions as a basis for consultation.
Introduce a one-tenth reduction in the inheritance tax rate when at least one-tenth of a person's net estate was donated to charity.
Simplify the Gift Aid scheme for small donations.
Create 11 enterprise zones across England, with simplified planning rules.
Create a 'powerful presumption' in the planning system in favour of sustainable development.
Official estimates of economic growth were downgraded for both 2010 and 2011. 200,000 fewer jobs would be created during 2010-2015, and public borrowing over the same period would be £45 billion higher, compared with previous forecasts.
Source: Budget 2011, HC 836, HM Treasury, TSO
Links: Budget report | Overview of Tax Legislation and Rates | Economic and Fiscal Outlook (OBR) | Hansard | HMT press release | DCLG press release | Conservative Party press release | HOC research note | Action for Children press release | Barnardos press release | BPF press release | CAF press release | CBI press release | Centre for Cities press release | CIH press release | CIOT press release | Citizens Advice press release | Civitas press release | CLA press release | CPAG press release | CPRE press release | ECP press release | Fabian Society analysis | Fawcett Society press release | Green Alliance press release | Green Party press release | IFS press release | IPPR press release | JRF press release | Labour Party press release | L&G press release | LGA press release | LITRG press release | Museums Association press release | NAPF press release | NCVO press release | NEF press release | NHF press release | NLGN press release | Policy Exchange press release | Scope press release | Shelter press release | Sustrans press release | TCPA press release | TUC press release | UKGBC press release | UKSIF press release | Unicef UK press release | Urban Forum press release | Work Foundation press release | BBC report | Civil Society report | Community Care report | Guardian report | Inside Housing report
Date: 2011-Mar
A briefing paper examined policy debates around automatic enrolment into occupational pension schemes, and compulsory employer contributions.
Source: Djuna Thurley, Pensions: Automatic Enrolment and Employer Contributions, Standard Note SN/BT/4847, House of Commons Library
Links: Briefing paper
Date: 2011-Feb
A think-tank report examined the future of public sector pensions. It said that taxpayers should not be liable for making up the £10 billion annual shortfall in the schemes, and recommended that the schemes should move to a defined-contribution basis: the key principle of public sector pensions reform should be self-sufficiency.
Source: Michael Johnson, Self-Sufficiency Is the Key: Addressing the public sector pensions challenge, Centre for Policy Studies
Links: Report | Summary | CPS press release | Professional Pensions report
Date: 2011-Feb
A briefing paper examined government plans to raise the state pension age.
Source: Djuna Thurley, State Pension Age, Standard Note SN/BT/2234, House of Commons Library
Links: Briefing paper
Date: 2011-Feb
An audit report in Scotland said that public sector pension schemes faced 'significant cost pressures', and would need major reforms.
Source: The Cost of Public Sector Pensions in Scotland, Audit Scotland
Links: Report | Audit Scotland press release | Public Finance report
Date: 2011-Feb
Researchers examined 'customer' experiences of, and satisfaction with, the Pensions Advisory Service.
Source: Alex Thornton, Nicholas Fitzgerald, Richard Lloyd, and Heather Rose, Customer experiences and Satisfaction with the Pensions Advisory Service, Research Report 724, Department for Work and Pensions
Links: Report | Summary | DWP press release
Date: 2011-Feb
The Pensions Bill was published. Starting from 1 October 2012, employers would be required to provide employees with a workplace pension plan or enrol them in the National Employment Savings Trust. Employers would be required to contribute to the plan and operate payroll deductions for their employees' contributions. The Bill also brought forward the increase in state pension age to 66 by 2020, and the alignment of women's state pension age with men's (at 65) by 2018.
Source: Pensions Bill [HL], Department for Work and Pensions, TSO
Links: Bill | Explanatory notes | Equality impact assessment (pension age) | DWP press release | PAS press release | CBI press release | Personnel Today report
Date: 2011-Jan
A report said that the state pension system was only partially successful in its role as a safety net for people with very low lifetime earnings, and was not sustainable in view of the continued ageing of the population. It explored ideas for reform, including incentivizing labour force participation and ensuring sustainability in the face of demographic change. One idea was for the state pension age to be linked to measures of life expectancy.
Source: Sarah Harper, Kenneth Howse, and Steven Baxter, Living Longer and Prospering? Designing an adequate, sustainable and equitable UK state pension system, Club Vita LLP/Oxford Institute of Ageing
Links: Report | OIA press release
Date: 2011-Jan
A paper examined how far retirement pension systems in Europe were suited to cover the specific risks faced by flexible workers, particularly women.
Source: Janine Leschke, Flexible Working Lives and Pension Coverage in Europe with a Focus on Women: Lessons to be learned by Germany?, REC-WP 01/2011, Reconciling Work and Welfare in Europe (Edinburgh University)
Links: Paper
Date: 2011-Jan
A report described economic modelling designed to assess the potential impact of alternative policy scenarios on saving incentives.
Source: Chris Curry, Daniel Redwood, John Adams, and Sean James, Towards More Effective Savings Incentives: A report of PPI modelling for AEGON, Pensions Policy Institute
Links: Report
Date: 2011-Jan
An article examined moves towards pan-European pension funds, following a European Commission Directive in 2003. Whereas the elimination of financial and tax barriers had proceeded smoothly, harmonization of the social and labour components within the occupational pension domain had not occurred. Nonetheless the road towards a single occupational pension market was still open, with the first positive results emerging from the greater involvement of corporate and supranational actors.
Source: Igor Guardiancich, 'Pan-European pension funds: current situation and future prospects', International Social Security Review, Volume 64 Issue 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2011-Jan