An article examined the implications of the global economic crisis for pensions and pension policy in Europe. The crisis had affected pensions in both the short and longer term. It had forced politicians to address the consequences of societal ageing, while exposing the fallibility of funded schemes as a source of pension security. Fundamental questions about the prolongation of working lives remained to be resolved.
Source: Bernard Casey, 'The implications of the economic crisis for pensions and pension policy in Europe', Global Social Policy, Volume 12 Number 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Dec
An article examined the impact of the coalition government's public sector pension reform plans on different public sector workers. The reforms were fair, if measured by the government's own standards: retirement was delayed for all, but the lowest-skilled groups and women lost least, and some even gained higher pensions without paying proportionately more. The reforms reflected a greater awareness of social inequality than many would have expected, and had been built on more cross-party agreement than was apparent at first sight.
Source: Paul Bridgen and Traute Meyer, 'Fair cuts? The impact of British public service pension reform on workers in the main occupations', Social Policy and Society, Volume 12 Issue 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Dec
An article examined the idea of 'defined ambition' pensions, and whether pension schemes run on those principles actually work. Members would needed to be convinced by those running such schemes that they had the necessary skill to provide a fair outcome for all. Most importantly, a clear and stable regulatory environment one that could not be easily overturned by future governments would be needed to convince employers to back such schemes.
Source: Sarah Smart, 'Can collective pension schemes work in the United Kingdom?', Pensions: An International Journal, Volume 17 Issue 4
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Dec
An article said that changes in European pensions policy were creating opportunities for cost savings, simplification of cross-border arrangements, and commercial joint ventures.
Source: Robin Ellison, 'European pensions policy and the impact of the EU pensions directive for employers worldwide', Pensions: An International Journal, Volume 17 Issue 4
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Dec
An article examined the saving behaviour of ethnic minorities. Ethnic minorities showed consistently lower levels of saving for retirement compared with a white control group.
Source: Orla Gough and Roberta Adami, 'Saving for retirement: a review of ethnic minorities in the UK', Social Policy and Society, Volume 12 Issue 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Dec
An article examined how west European states used a range of regulation to control the operations of funded pensions, as they sought to convert market-related practices to social policy purposes. The financial crisis and its aftermath had undermined easy distinctions between public and private schemes, and was generating increasingly technocratic and oligarchic forms of pension governance, to the detriment of democratic debate on pensions.
Source: Bernhard Ebbinghaus and Noel Whiteside, 'Shifting responsibilities in western European pension systems: what future for social models?', Global Social Policy, Volume 12 Number 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Dec
An article examined measures enacted in the Pensions Acts of 2007 and 2008 that had been designed to make state pensions more inclusive for those with periods out of the labour market for family caring, as well as encouraging more saving through private pensions by those with low to moderate earnings. It said that the benefits to women would be patchy and less than expected. It considered policy alternatives that would give women a better pensions deal.
Source: Jay Ginn and Ken MacIntyre, 'UK pension reforms: is gender still an issue?', Social Policy and Society, Volume 12 Issue 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Dec
A survey examined people s attitudes to financial preparations for later life and to decisions on leaving paid work. Almost two-thirds (59 per cent) of respondents did not feel that they knew enough about pensions to decide with confidence how to save for retirement.
Source: Pat MacLeod, Alice Fitzpatrick, Becky Hamlyn, Andrew Jones, Andrea Kinver, and Leon Page, Attitudes to Pensions: The 2012 Survey, Research Report 813, Department for Work and Pensions
Links: Report | Summary | DWP press release
Date: 2012-Nov
The coalition government published proposals designed to rebuild confidence and trust in workplace pensions, and reverse declining membership. It set out ideas for sharing risks more equally between employer and employee, and for helping people get the most out of what they saved in a pension. It proposed the creation of new 'defined ambition' pensions offering greater certainty to savers about the final value of their pension pot than in defined-contribution schemes, and less cost volatility for employers than in defined-benefit schemes. The government also made suggestions for achieving greater scale in pension funds, more transparency on charges, and other ways to help people recognize a good pension scheme.
Source: Reinvigorating Workplace Pensions, Cm 8478, Department for Work and Pensions, TSO
Links: Plan | Hansard | DWP press release | ACA press release | CBI press release | PAS press release | TUC press release
Date: 2012-Nov
A think-tank report examined the financial resilience of young people, their attitudes to saving, and their future aspirations for financial security. Young people faced a very uncertain future as a result of the double-dip recession, government spending cuts, and structural problems such as the high cost of housing. They might be the first generation since the second world war to fare worse economically than their parents.
Source: Tony Dolphin, Young People and Savings: A route to improved financial resilience, Institute for Public Policy Research
Links: Report | Friends Provident press release
Date: 2012-Nov
A think-tank report examined the long-term challenges involved in increasing the rate at which people saved. The government's auto-enrolment pensions policy might be undermined by economic weakness, forcing policy-makers to look at radical new ideas such as low-cost public loans, additional behavioural 'nudges', and even compulsion.
Source: Nigel Keohane, Jam Tomorrow? The next 20 years of savings policy, Social Market Foundation
Links: Report | SMF press release
Date: 2012-Nov
A think-tank report called for a radical overhaul of the financial incentives designed to encourage retirement savings. It said that pension tax relief was crude and mis-directed, primarily towards the wealthy, and did little to encourage a savings culture among younger workers. The report recommended a combined annual contribution limit for tax-relieved savings/pensions of between £30,000 and £40,000. Higher-rate tax relief on pension contributions should be abolished, and the 10p tax rebate on pension assets' dividends and interest income reinstated.
Source: Michael Johnson, Costly and Ineffective: Why pension tax reliefs should be reformed, Centre for Policy Studies
Links: Paper | Summary | Professional Pensions report
Date: 2012-Nov
A report said that people aged over 50 who belonged to defined-contribution pension schemes underestimated how long they would live, and were over-optimistic about how well off they would be in their retirement.
Source: Rowena Crawford and Gemma Tetlow, Expectations and Experiences of Retirement in Defined Contribution Pensions: A study of older people in England, Institute for Fiscal Studies
Links: Report | IFS press release | NAPF press release | Labour Party press release | Telegraph report
Date: 2012-Nov
A think-tank report said that the cashflow shortfall between public sector contributions and pensions in payment was rising to 'unsustainable' levels. Another round of public sector pension 'reforms' would be required as a result, probably before 2020.
Source: Michael Johnson, The Approaching Cashflow Crunch: Why coalition reforms to public sector pensions will not hold, Centre for Policy Studies
Links: Report | Telegraph report
Date: 2012-Nov
A report said that the coalition government's proposed reforms to the four main public service pension schemes would reduce the average value of the pension benefit for scheme members by more than one-third: however, the schemes would still be more valuable than most of those in the private sector.
Source: The Implications of the Coalition Government's Reforms for Members of the Public Service Pension Schemes, Pensions Policy Institute
Links: Report | Briefing | PPI press release | Daily Mail report | Public Finance report
Date: 2012-Oct
An article examined the attitudes of young women (aged 18 30) towards pensions, and whether they differed according to socio-economic status. The ability and willingness of people to contribute to a pension depended, among other things, on the pension offered by employers, the pension requirements in place, and immediate financial needs. Pension policy needed to take into account women's employment histories, which were often fragmented and diverse, when considering young women's attitudes towards pension saving.
Source: Liam Foster, '"I might not live that long!" A study of young women's pension planning in the UK', Social Policy and Administration, Volume 46 Number 7
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Oct
A trade union report examined the membership, contribution rates, and governance of workplace pensions, as well as the retirement incomes they generated. It highlighted trends and areas where improvement was most needed. Low-paid workers were far less likely to have a workplace pension, and those that did had far lower employer contribution rates. Two working papers were published alongside the report.
Source: Pensions Scorecard 2012: Assessing defined contribution workplace pensions provision, Trades Union Congress | Hilary Salt, The Future of Defined Benefit Pensions Provision, Trades Union Congress | Bryn Davies, Better Defined Contribution Pension Provision, Trades Union Congress
Links: Report | Working paper (1) | Working paper (2) | TUC press release | Professional Pensions report
Date: 2012-Oct
A report examined the likely outcomes for private sector employees saving in defined-contribution default funds under the new auto-enrolment system. It identified serious problems with the potential widespread use of older high-charging funds, particularly among smaller employers. The government, regulators, and pensions industry needed to act urgently to make sure that employees passively auto-enrolled into an employer scheme (and who were therefore not active purchasers of a financial services product) were not disadvantaged.
Source: Debbie Harrison, David Blake, and Kevin Dowd, Caveat Venditor: The brave new world of auto-enrolment should be governed by the principle of seller not buyer beware, Pensions Institute (City University)
Links: Report | Guardian report | Telegraph report
Date: 2012-Oct
A briefing paper examined steps to increase saving for retirement in European countries.
Source: Boosting Retirement Saving Across Europe, International Longevity Centre – UK
Links: Briefing
Date: 2012-Oct
Researchers examined the charging levels and structures in trust- and contract-based pension schemes. Employers' awareness of member charges was low, with only around one-third aware that members paid any charges at all.
Source: Andrew Wood, Dominika Wintersgill, and Niall Baker, Pension Landscape and Charging: Quantitative and qualitative research with employers and pension providers, Research Report 804, Department for Work and Pensions
Links: Report | Summary | Professional Pensions report
Date: 2012-Sep
The Public Service Pensions Bill was published. The Bill was designed to implement previously announced changes including linking the retirement age for public sector workers to the state pension age and altering the basis of defined-benefit schemes from final salary to career average earnings. The coalition government said that the Bill would save £65 billion over the subsequent 50 years.
Source: Public Service Pensions Bill, HM Treasury, TSO
Links: Bill | Explanatory notes | HMT press release | BMA press release | NUT press release | PCS press release | RCN press release | Unite press release | Public Finance report | Telegraph report
>Date: 2012-Sep
An independent steering group published initial recommendations on the development of 'simple' financial products that would better enable consumers to navigate the financial services market. It proposed: an easy access savings account; a 30-day notice account; a simple term life insurance product; a 'Simple Products' accreditation body to ensure that these products were meeting core standards; and an accompanying 'kite mark' badge to ensure that these products were clearly identifiable to consumers.
Source: Sergeant Review of Simple Financial Products: Interim Report, HM Treasury
Links: Report | HMT press release | BBC report
Date: 2012-Aug
The government responded to the outcome of consultation on the problem of small pension pots and the difficulties of consolidating them in a single scheme. It said that it favoured a system under which small pension pots automatically followed people from job to job, moving from the previous employer's scheme to that run by the new employer.
Source: Improving Transfers and Dealing with Small Pension Pots: Government Response to the Consultation, Cm 8402, Department for Work and Pensions, TSO
Links: Response to consultation | Hansard | TUC press release
Notes: Consultation document (December 2011)
Date: 2012-Jul
A report warned that the automatic enrolment of millions of people into work-based pension schemes might leave them vulnerable to conflicts of interests and a lack of oversight from intermediaries in the investment chain. It made a number of policy proposals designed to ensure that savers' best interests were served.
Source: Whose Duty? Ensuring effective stewardship in contract-based pensions, FairPensions
Links: Report | FairPensions press release | Labour Party press release | TUC press release
Date: 2012-Jul
A 'baseline' report described the landscape before implementation of the government's workplace pension reforms, structured around eight key evaluation questions. Only 1 in 10 employers understood how to discharge their duties under the new system.
Source: Workplace Pension Reforms: Baseline Evaluation Report, Research Report 803, Department for Work and Pensions
Links: Report | Summary | DWP press release | Professional Pensions report
Date: 2012-Jul
An article examined how the social objective of protecting lower earners from old-age poverty was supported at the European Union level, based on the situation in Germany, Poland, and the United Kingdom. Although member states were responsible for pension policy, the EU framework could empower domestic social policy actors by providing them with cognitive and normative resources. But there was a lack of common policy solutions due to two diverging pension reform paradigms: the 'adequacy' paradigm and the 'sustainability' paradigm. The Europe 2020 strategy limited the scope for positive social policy measures linked to the adequacy approach because it prioritized a low tax 'wedge' and growth-enhancing initiatives.
Source: Michaela Willert, 'The European social dimension in pension policy', Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research, Volume 18 Number 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Jul
An audit report said that there was insufficient accountability to ensure that the regulatory system for defined-contribution pensions delivered value for money.
Source: Regulating Defined Contribution Pension Schemes, HC 466 (Session 2012–13), National Audit Office, TSO
Links: Report | NAO press release | Pensions Regulator press release | CBI press release | Professional Pensions report
Date: 2012-Jul
The Labour Party published a policy paper on pensions. It said that the problem of hidden costs and charges, and people's lack of trust in the pensions industry, threatened to undermine the new statutory system of workplace-based private pensions.
Source: Pensions People Can Trust, Labour Party
Links: Paper | Labour Party press release | ABI press release | Professional Pensions report
Date: 2012-Jul
A report said that purchasers of personal pensions were being misled by pension providers about the level of hidden costs and charges.
Source: David Pitt-Watson and Hari Mann, Seeing Through British Pensions: How to increase cost transparency in UK pension schemes, Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures & Commerce
Links: Report | Consumer Focus press release | Labour Party press release | Professional Pensions report
Date: 2012-Jul
A report examined the changing landscape of pension schemes in the private sector. It said that by 2020 there could be 16 million members of defined-contribution pension schemes compared with fewer than 1 million members of defined-benefit schemes.
Source: Leandro Carrera, Chris Curry, and Niki Cleal, The Changing Landscape of Pension Schemes in the Private Sector in the UK, Pensions Policy Institute
Links: Report | Summary | PPI press release
Date: 2012-Jun
A paper examined savings incentives from the perspective of behavioural theory. The evidence suggested that the success of behavioural measures in encouraging saving was by no means guaranteed. Integrating behavioural and traditional economic measures was probably the best way forward.
Source: Rob Hardcastle, How Can We Incentivise Pension Saving? A behavioural perspective, Working Paper 109, Department for Work and Pensions
Links: Working paper
Date: 2012-Jun
A literature review examined research and analysis on trust and confidence, with special reference to pensions. Although trust was required to facilitate pensions and retirement planning actions, the relationships between levels of trust, knowledge, risk (perceived and actual), and behaviour were potentially complex and unpredictable.
Source: Sarah Vickerstaff, Jan Macvarish, Peter Taylor-Gooby, Wendy Loretto, and Tina Harrison, Trust and Confidence in Pensions: A literature review, Working Paper 108, Department for Work and Pensions
Links: Working paper
Date: 2012-Jun
A think-tank report said that the financial services industry was 'widely, and justifiably, distrusted', and put forward a series of recommendations for reform. It said that the industry should concentrate on giving customers what they wanted – which in 90 per cent of cases was simplicity. Specific proposals included establishing an industry-wide defined-contribution pension pot consolidation service, and an annuities clearing house. All new-born babies should be allocated a 'Super ISA', and in time every citizen would have one seamless savings vehicle that would last their whole life.
Source: Michael Johnson, Put the Saver First: Catalysing a savings culture, Centre for Policy Studies
Links: Report | Summary | Telegraph report
Date: 2012-Jun
A paper examined the pension reform process in Europe. It considered options designed to bring entitlement systems closer to fiscal balance and still achieve their key aims. There was no single policy prescription that could solve all problems at once. Reform elements included a freeze in contribution and tax rates, an indexation of benefits to the dependency ratio, measures to stop the existing trend towards early retirement, an adaptation of the normal retirement age to increased life expectancy, and more reliance on private savings.
Source: Axel Borsch-Supan, Entitlement Reforms in Europe: Policy mixes in the current pension reform process, Working Paper 18009, National Bureau of Economic Research (Massachusetts, USA)
Links: Paper
Date: 2012-May
A report examined evidence on the Impact of workplace pension reforms on household savings. It was found that increasing membership in pension schemes, particularly those in which employers made contributions, could generate new saving. But estimates varied greatly between different studies and countries, owing to limitations in the robustness and comparability of available information.
Source: Supplementary Review of Research Relevant to Assessing the Impact of the Workplace Pension Reforms on Household Savings, In-House Research 10, Department for Work and Pensions
Links: Report
Date: 2012-May
The Queen's Speech set out the coalition government's legislative programme for 2012-13. It included plans for:
A Pensions Bill. The state pension age would be raised to 67 between 2026 and 2028 (earlier than previously planned). The state pension system would be simplified by introducing a flat-rate state pension initially worth about £140 per week.
A Public Service Pensions Bill. Public sector pensions would be moved to a career-average basis, instead of final salary.
Source: Queen's Speech, 9 May 2012, columns 3-5, House of Commons Hansard, TSO
Links: Hansard | Cabinet Office briefing | PCS press release | Guardian report | Telegraph report
Date: 2012-May
The government responded to a report by a committee of MPs on plans for auto-enrolment in a workplace pension.
Source: Automatic Enrolment in Workplace Pensions and the National Employment Savings Trust: Government Response to the Committee's Eighth Report of Session 2010-12, Second Special Report (Session 2012-13), HC 154, House of Commons Work and Pensions Select Committee, TSO
Links: Response
Notes: MPs report (March 2012)
Date: 2012-May
A report described a new approach to calculating the amounts of money contributed to private pensions, presenting estimates for 2010.
Source: Improved Methods for Calculating Private Pension Contributions, Office for National Statistics
Links: Report
Date: 2012-May
A report presented findings from qualitative research with pension providers and third-party administrators into the processes and costs involved in transferring pension pots between providers.
Source: Andrew Wood, Peggy Young, Naomi Crowther, and Annalise Toberman, Processes and Costs of Transferring a Pension Scheme: Qualitative research with pension providers and third-party administrators, Working Paper 107, Department for Work and Pensions
Links: Working paper
Date: 2012-Apr
A new book examined whether, and to what extent, the interplay in European countries between pension reforms and the spread of 'atypical' employment patterns and fragmented careers had a negative influence on economic security in old age.
Source: Karl Hinrichs and Matteo Jessoula (eds.), Labour Market Flexibility and Pension Reforms: Flexible today, secure tomorrow?, Palgrave Macmillan
Links: Summary
Date: 2012-Apr
A report examined the challenge posed to the pensions system by an ageing population, a society 'habitually dependent' on debt, low savings rates, and high numbers of people with little or no pension provision. It made a series of proposals to address the crisis: raising the state retirement age to 70 sooner than planned, in phases by 2044; providing a single, flat-rate, universal, basic state pension, and abolishing means-tested retirement income benefits such as pension credit; radically reforming and simplifying the pension architecture; and developing a formal government savings policy.
Source: Malcolm Small, Roadmap for Retirement Reform, Institute of Directors
Links: Report | IOD press release
Date: 2012-Apr
A paper examined how individuals responded to complex decision-making environments – in particular, whether up-front financial incentives were an effective policy lever to change behaviour. Incentives differed in their transparency and in their complexity, and individuals were more likely to respond to incentives that were both transparent and implied a large pay-off in terms of net income.
Source: Rowena Crawford, Richard Disney, and Carl Emmerson, Do Up-Front Tax Incentives Affect Private Pension Saving in the United Kingdom?, Working Paper 12/05, Institute for Fiscal Studies
Links: Paper
Date: 2012-Mar
A paper presented a multidimensional approach to the adequacy of the pension systems systems of 26 European countries. Three dimensions of adequacy were defined: income, poverty, and differentiation of pensioners' material situation by gender.
Source: Filip Chybalski, Measuring the Multidimensional Adequacy of Pension Systems in European Countries, Discussion Paper 1204, Pensions Institute (City University)
Links: Paper
Date: 2012-Mar
An article examined how risks were assigned in pensions schemes and how enrollees might seek recourse if their expectations were disappointed, based on a comparison between the United States and the United Kingdom. Enrollees were more likely to seek recourse from the government in the UK: regulatory decisions were more conducive to private risk-bearing in the USA than in the UK, suggesting that regulatory market liberalism was undermined by a residual approach to public provision.
Source: Deborah Mabbett, 'The ghost in the machine: pension risks and regulatory responses in the United States and the United Kingdom', Politics and Society, Volume 40 Number 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Mar
An article said that the privatization of pensions could not be assessed in isolation, but only within the context of the overall institutional arrangements for security in old age in the country concerned. It compared recent developments in two countries, Germany and the United Kingdom, with different welfare state traditions.
Source: Lutz Leisering, 'Pension privatization in a welfare state environment: socializing private pensions in Germany and the United Kingdom', Journal of Comparative Social Welfare, Volume 28 Issue 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Mar
An article said that 'mandated' private pensions – provided they were appropriately designed and regulated – were a viable alternative to publicly administered retirement income protection.
Source: Mark Hyde, Adrian Barton, Sue Farrar, and Jonathan Moizer, 'Should Europeans fear the privatisation of pensions?', Journal of Comparative Social Welfare, Volume 28 Issue 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Mar
A report by a committee of MPs said that plans for auto-enrolment in a workplace pension constituted a welcome reform: but that the government should lift two key restrictions on the operation of the National Employment Savings Trust (NEST) as a matter of urgency. First, the cap on the annual contributions that an individual could make to a NEST scheme would result in severe complexity for businesses, as it would mean that employers with higher-paid employees could not use NEST as their single pension scheme. Second, the ban on individuals transferring existing pension pots into NEST would be disruptive both for individuals who would like to consolidate separate pension pots into their NEST scheme, as well as for employers who would like to operate a single occupational pension scheme.
Source: Automatic Enrolment in Workplace Pensions and the National Employment Savings Trust, Eighth Report (Session 2010-12), HC 1494, House of Commons Work and Pensions Select Committee, TSO
Links: Report | Additional written evidence | ABI press release | CBI press release | Labour Party press release | TUC press release
Date: 2012-Mar
An article examined the transfer of pension risk to individuals that accompanied the shift from defined-benefit to defined-contribution provision. A crucial issue was the ability of individuals to 'actively' engage in the development of trust in defined-contribution pension provision: but the likelihood of achieving that was 'open to question'.
Source: Patrick Ring, 'Trust: a challenge for private pension policy', Journal of Comparative Social Welfare, Volume 28 Issue 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Mar
A briefing paper examined the distribution of defined-contribution pension savings, and the scale of the problem of 'small pots' (worth less than £2,000). At least 200,000 people could benefit from being able to consolidate small pension pots, if transfers between providers were made easier.
Source: Rowena Crawford and Gemma Tetlow, Fund Holdings in Defined Contribution Pensions, Briefing Note 127, Institute for Fiscal Studies
Links: Briefing Note | IFS press release
Date: 2012-Mar
A report said that around half a million people retiring each year were being short-changed by up to £1 billion from their total future pension income, because of sharp practice and murky pricing in the annuity market. It called on the government to monitor the annuity market more closely, and for greater transparency to increase competition and trust levels.
Source: Debbie Harrison, Treating DC Scheme Members Fairly in Retirement?, National Association of Pension Funds
Links: Report | NAPF press release | Guardian report | Professional Pensions report | Telegraph report
Date: 2012-Feb
An article examined the potential role of housing equity in funding retirement, drawing on a comparative study of the views of home-owners in Germany and the United Kingdom.
Source: Anwen Jones, Tim Geilenkeuser, Ilse Helbrecht, and Deborah Quilgars, 'Demographic change and retirement planning: comparing households views on the role of housing equity in Germany and the UK', International Journal of Housing Policy, Volume 12 Issue 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Feb
Researchers examined the validity of the model used by the Department for Work and Pensions to produce state and private pension outcomes for hypothetical individuals or couples. In the majority of the scenarios considered, after allowing for differences in policy assumptions, the results were close (within 5 per cent) to those produced by an independent model, for people of most ages and levels of earnings.
Source: John Adams and Chris Curry, A Validation of the Methodology Used in the Department for Work and Pensions Ipen Model, Working Paper 106, Department for Work and Pensions
Links: Working paper
Date: 2012-Feb
A report examined how decisions made by savers could affect the pension of an average earner due to retire in 2055 at the age of 68. It considered factors such as paying more into a pension, starting saving earlier, working longer, minimizing charges, and choosing the best annuity.
Source: John Adams and Chris Curry, Closing the Gap: The choices and factors that can affect private pension income in retirement, Pensions Policy Institute
Links: Report | NAPF press release
Date: 2012-Feb
The European Commission published (following consultation) a White Paper on the future of pensions systems. It put forward a range of initiatives to: help create the right conditions so that those who were able to do so could continue working – leading to a better balance between time in work and time in retirement; ensure that people who moved to another European Union country could keep their pension rights; and help people save more and ensure that people got what they expected in retirement.
Source: An Agenda for Adequate, Safe and Sustainable Pensions, European Commission
Links: White Paper | European Commission press release | CBI press release | ETUC press release | EWL press release
Date: 2012-Feb
An article examined the way in which housing equity was used as a pension across the member states of the European Union.
Source: John Doling and Marja Elsinga, 'Housing as income in old age', International Journal of Housing Policy, Volume 12 Issue 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Feb
A report examined what was known – and not known – about the effectiveness of various policies designed to increase saving by households. It offered a critical review of the literature in four main areas: financial incentives; information; education and training; choice architecture or 'nudge'; and social marketing.
Source: Thomas Crossley, Carl Emmerson, and Andrew Leicester, Raising Household Saving, British Academy
Links: Report | British Academy press release | IFS press release
Date: 2012-Feb
An article examined the implications of the National Employment Savings Trust (NEST – a new pension scheme from 2012 for employees on modest incomes). The NEST would increase labour costs by 0.6-0.8 per cent on average, and have a disproportionate effect on low pay industries and private sector firms employing fewer than 25 employees.
Source: Justin van de Ven, 'Implications of the National Employment Savings Trust for vulnerable sectors of the UK labour market: a reduced-form statistical evaluation', National Institute Economic Review, Volume 219 Number 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Feb
A paper compared data on household savings and investment obtained from four different questionnaire designs. An approach requiring each individual in the household to report on savings, and a single individual within the household to report on investments, provided consistently better data with little difference in administration burden over the existing British Household Panel Survey design.
Source: SC Noah Uhrig, Mark Bryan, and Sarah Budd, UKHLS Innovation Panel Household Wealth Questions: Preliminary analysis, Understanding Society Working Paper 2012-01, Institute for Social and Economic Research (University of Essex)
Links: Working paper | Abstract
Date: 2012-Jan
A survey found that 28 per cent of households had less than £250 in accessible savings. Among those aged 25-34, 30 per cent said that they had nothing set aside at all. 24 per cent of women said that they had no savings, compared with 16 per cent of men.
Source: Press release 9 January 2012, First Direct
Links: First Direct press release | Telegraph report
Date: 2012-Jan
A survey found that 9 out of 10 private sector defined-benefit pensions schemes had been closed by employers to new entrants.
Source: Workplace Pensions: Challenging Times, Association of Consulting Actuaries
Links: Report | Telegraph report
Date: 2012-Jan
A think-tank report examined the coalition government's policies on public sector pensions and pay. It concluded that the pension 'reforms' would make 'little or no difference' to long-term costs: the savings from higher pension ages were, on average, offset by greater generosity in other elements. The pay freeze, and the additional two years of below-inflation increases, would leave public pay at roughly the same level relative to private pay as it was in 2008.
Source: Carl Emmerson and Wenchao Jin, Public Sector Pensions and Pay, Institute for Fiscal Studies
Links: Report | IFS press release | TUC press release | Guardian report | Public Finance report
Date: 2012-Jan
The coalition government announced a revised timetable for when employers had to start enrolling their staff in a workplace pension. The scheme would only be fully introduced by October 2018, two years later than originally planned.
Source: Written Ministerial Statement 25 January 2012, columns 20-22WS, House of Commons Hansard, TSO
Links: Hansard | DWP press release | Telegraph report
Date: 2012-Jan
An article examined the link between pension systems and the adequacy of retirement income in European countries. Only a few countries had been successful in providing combinations of private and public pensions that improved the adequacy of retirement income.
Source: Jenny Onyx, Sue Kenny, and Kevin Brown, 'Welfare systems and adequacy of pension benefits in Europe', Social Policy and Society, Volume 11 Issue 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Jan