There has been a good deal of controversy about the restriction on death benefits payable to the survivors of same sex marriages and civil partnerships. An employment tribunal decided in November 2012 that the restriction for civil partners breached European law prohibiting discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation. Although a court would not be forced to follow that tribunal ruling, its reasoning is persuasive. Following criticism in Parliament, the Government has undertaken to complete a review by 1 July 2014. As a result, the Government may decide that occupational pension schemes must treat same sex marriages on a par with opposite sex marriages. Schemes wishing to pay only the minimum benefits currently required by law should bear in mind that they may be forced to change their stance – at their own cost.
The Pensions Advisory Service launch web chat tool
9 September 2013
Web chat is a new online service where you can talk to experts in real time about pensions.
The Pensions Advisory Service (TPAS) is an independent non-profit organisation that provides free information, advice and guidance on the whole spectrum of company, personal and stakeholder schemes.
With automatic enrolment high on the agenda, employees and employers alike will have pension questions they need quick answers to.
Visit TPAS’s website for further information on how to use web chat.
One million fewer facing inadequate retirement incomes
16 September 2013
A report has been published which looks at the impacts of the introduction of the single-tier pension and automatic enrolment as a whole to identify where future challenges remain.
The report ‘ Framework for the Analysis of Future Pension Incomes ’ published by The Department for Work and Pensions shows that as a result of the key pension reforms - and based on conservative assumptions about behaviour change - 1 million fewer people will be facing inadequate retirement incomes, and 73 per cent of those facing inadequate retirement incomes will see an improvement in their incomes, bringing them closer to their target income. The government do expect that the true impact of their policies will be significantly larger than this, for example as a simpler state pension encourages more private saving, and as mass membership of workplace pensions improves the pensions ‘saving habit’.
There are a number of actions individuals can take to improve their future retirement incomes. These include:
having a full working history saving whilst in work saving more.
The right level of saving for an individual will depend on their particular circumstances but this document ‘ Framework for the Analysis of Future Pension Incomes ’ can help people understand the options.
CIPP Policy News Journal
16/04/2014, Page 434 of 519
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