As announced in the Summer Budget the government is consulting on whether there is a case for reforming pensions tax relief to strengthen incentives to save and offer savers greater simplicity and transparency, or whether it would be best to keep with the current system.
The publication - Strengthening the incentive to save: a consultation on pensions tax relief will run until 30 September 2015.
The government will consider all responses and publish a ‘summary of responses’ which will set out how they intend to proceed.
Watch out for a survey on this as the Policy Team shall be asking for your views to inform the CIPP’s response. In the interim, to get you thinking, there are eight questions asked in the consultation:
1. To what extent does the complexity of the current system undermine the incentive for individuals to save into a pension? 2. Do respondents believe that a simpler system is likely to result in greater engagement with pension saving? If so, how could the system be simplified to strengthen the incentive for individuals to save into a pension? 3. Would an alternative system allow individuals to take greater personal responsibility for saving an adequate amount for retirement, particularly in the context of the shift to defined contribution pensions? 4. Would an alternative system allow individuals to plan better for how they use their savings in retirement? 5. Should the government consider differential treatment for defined benefit and defined contribution pensions? If so, how should each be treated? 6. What administrative barriers exist to reforming the system of pensions tax, particularly in the context of automatic enrolment? How could these best be overcome? 7. How should employer pension contributions be treated under any reform of pensions tax relief? 8. How can the government make sure that any reform of pensions tax relief is sustainable for the future?
Pensions Industry Stakeholder Forum minutes 13 July 2015
The minutes from the meeting the latest Pensions Industry Stakeholder Forum have been made available.
Topics discussed include:
Lifetime allowance reduction to £1m and new protection regimes Tapered annual allowance for income over £150k Recognised Overseas Pension Schemes
Pension flexibility Pension liberation Pensions Tax Manual
Pensions Industry Stakeholder Forum Minutes from the meeting held on 8 June 2015.
Pension Wise guidance service to extend access 14 July 2015
Over 85,000 people have taken advantage of the new flexibilities for accessing pensions that were introduced in April 2015.
Detailed within the Summer Budget 2015 , the government announced that following the successful launch of Pension Wise in April 2015, they will extend access to this free and impartial guidance service to those aged 50 and above, and will launch a comprehensive nationwide marketing campaign to further raise awareness of the service. The government also wants to ensure that people can access the new flexibilities easily, and at reasonable cost. The government will consult before the summer on options aimed at making the process for transferring pensions from one scheme to another quicker and smoother, including in relation to any excessive early exit penalties. If there is evidence of such penalties, they will consider imposing a legislative cap on these charges for those aged 55 or over.
CIPP Policy News Journal
25/04/2016, Page 365 of 453
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