Reforming the State Pension · Auto-enrolment is intended to form part of a package of Government measures which would also include reform of the State Pension system. This is likely to involve introducing a flat-rate State Pension, reducing the level of means-testing and enabling people to see clear benefits from retirement saving. · The Committee urges the Government to proceed with its plans for State Pension reform without delay and introduce a Bill to this effect at the beginning of the 2012–13 parliamentary session. Ensuring pension schemes offer value for money · The report highlights the difficulties and complexity employers and employees currently face in comparing the fees and charges applied by pension providers. · The Committee welcomes the work that the National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF) is undertaking with the pensions industry to improve transparency and calls on the industry to establish a clear, accessible and universally-adopted model to allow the comparison of charges by the end of 2012. · The report recommends that, from 2013 onwards, if some auto-enrolment schemes still have hidden charges, or charges that represent poor value for money, the Government should use its powers to intervene. Implications for employers · Auto-enrolment will impose new costs and additional administrative duties on employers, and may be particularly challenging for small employers. The Committee considers that the Government has taken appropriate steps to minimise the impact on businesses though its gradual and flexible approach ("staging and phasing") to implementation. · The Committee supports the Government's decision that auto-enrolment should apply to employers of all sizes. Exempting small employers would create significant complexity, as well as excluding many employees from the benefits of workplace pension saving. Follow this link to read the full parliamentary press release 28 March 2012 The National Employment Savings Trust (NEST) has finalised its opt-out process ahead of the introduction of auto-enrolment later this year. Professional Pensions reports: NEST member and market communications manager Matthew Blakstad said: "We are absolutely not trying to make opting-out hard. "We have always thought: if someone really wants to opt-out because of their own personal circumstances, who are we to say that is not the right thing to do?" Blakstad said the website process, seen by PP, is 99% of what members will see in October. Workers who decide to opt-out and click the appropriate button on the website are first met by a message that says: "Not sure you can afford it? You can try it and take a break later." If they click to continue through the opt-out process, they are met by another screen that asks: "Are you happy to lose out on money from your employers?" NEST FINALISES OPT-OUT PROCESS
CIPP Policy News Journal
09/10/2012, Page 169 of 234
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