There’s been a lot of talk about the ‘new world’ of pension freedom. But there’s nothing novel about what people need when they retire. Most require an income to replace their wage, just as they always have. So-called pensions freedom is one of ex-Chancellor George Osborne’s great gifts to the…Read more…
Workplace pensions work: three lessons from today’s ONS stats
More older workers retiring today benefit from decent workplace pensions than ever before according to figures published by the Office for National Statistics. But changes to pension provision mean these gains are in danger of being reversed, and there…Read more…
Poorest pensioners hit by rise in state pension age
Raising the state pension age for women is hitting the poorest hardest – and is having an impact on some men too. Two pieces of research published this week show the dangers of restricting access to the state pension to attempt to force people to work longer. The first was from the Institute for…Read more…
This is no time for TEE: four reasons to resist turning pensions into ISAs
Former Treasury minister David Gauke has been appointed Secretary of State for Work and Pensions. This has prompted speculation that he might bring with him an apparent enthusiasm within parts of the Treasury, and certainly some right-wing think tanks,…Read more…
Keeping workplace pensions working: responding to the government consultation on defined benefit pensions
While the General Election takes centre stage, within Whitehall a process is quietly going on that could affect the living standards of upwards of 11 million people. Last week, a government consultation on the future of defined benefit (DB) pensions – the type that pay an income based on our salary…Read more…
Pensions and the price of milk
For a while there was a fad among political journalists for asking politicians the price of every day items, to test their understanding of voter’s lives. When it comes to changes to pensions policy, aspiring political leaders should have to prove their understanding of the financial position…Read more…
Government inertia could put pensions auto-enrolment at risk
Cleverly harnessing individual inertia to help workers get a workplace pension has been behind the success of automatic enrolment. But government inertia could put its early success at risk. Under automatic enrolment, workers have to actively opt out o…Read more…
Why Thatcher’s think tank is probably right about pensions
The Centre for Policy Studies, which proudly proclaims its links to Margaret Thatcher and Keith Joseph, is perhaps not a natural ally of the TUC. But its latest proposals on retirement income show that on pensions, good policy proposals based on sound …Read more…
Cridland report calls for reshaping of benefits for older workers
The benefits system needs to be reshaped to better aid older workers is an important conclusion of the Cridland review of state pension age to be published later today. The full report will be published later this morning, so we only have the briefest details. And, to be clear, the TUC doesn’t…Read more…
#Budget2017: Pensions freedom liberates cash straight into the Treasury
Paperwork released with the Budget has revealed what an astonishing short-term money spinner so-called “pensions freedom” has been for the Treasury – and hinted at what a disaster it might prove for our ability to provide for old age. Originally announced in Budget 2014, pensions…Read more…
The government takes a wrong turn on workplace pensions
On a day when official statistics revealed another welcome hike in the number of people saving in pensions, the government has just made it harder for savers when they reach retirement. Now, 68 per cent of employees are in a workplace pension scheme. T…Read more…
Four reasons why we have more than two choices on the State Pension
Pensions can be a complex subject. So it is tempting to make the subject into a series of straightforward binary choices. The latest effort in this direction is the publication of research from the Institute for Fiscal Studies for the Work and Pensions Select Committee. This places the public…Read more…
Why decommissioning nuclear workers’ pensions could be hazardous to us all
Government plans to bail on a pension promise to 11,000 nuclear decommissioning workers could end up establishing a dangerous precedent for pensions that many more of us rely on. There are many different ways of looking at the pension scheme your emplo…Read more…
A greener shade of vague: where are defined benefit pensions headed?
If dog resemble their owners, do government documents resemble their Ministers? Since entering office less than a year ago Pensions Minister Richard Harrington has appeared to be non-dogmatic, willing to engage with a wide range of voices and generally…Read more…
Brushing the dust off Collective pensions: TUC Pensions Conference
The subject of Collective Defined Contribution (CDC) pensions got an unexpected airing at the TUC Pensions Conference last week. The topic was not even on the conference agenda. For, after losing its most high profile backer in former Pensions Minister Steve Webb with the end of the Coalition…Read more…
Pensions designed by men for men: TUC Pensions Conference
If you mingled among the delegates at the TUC Pensions Conference last week, then you would be sure to hear people chatting about one of the presentations: the barnstorming contribution of Baroness Hollis on women and pensions. The Labour peer gave a r…Read more…
People and pensions: TUC conference puts focus on members
The coming year has the potential to see yet another overhaul of pensions saving. Virtually every aspect of the pensions system will come under scrutiny in the coming 12 months But through it all, it is vital that the focus is kept on the overriding po…Read more…
Good pensions or a pay rise? A response to the ILC-UK
If it wasn’t for companies meeting their obligations to fund defined benefit (DB) pension schemes, average wages would be £1,473 higher, claimed a think tank this morning. It is a compelling argument for many coming after a prolonged period of stagnant wage growth. It is also reminiscent of the…Read more…
The pensions triple lock is for youngsters
One of the myths about the State Pension triple lock is that it is somehow a subsidy of the wealthy old by the impecunious young. A report released this afternoon by the studiously neutral, Pensions Policy Institute shows two key things: The triple lock has done the vast bulk of the work in…Read more…
Quintuple reasons for the triple lock
The State Pension triple lock has taken another bashing. A committee of MPs released a report calling for the picking of the so-called triple lock, dating back to 2010, which guarantees that pensions will rise by the higher of inflation (measured by the Consumer Prices Index), average earnings…Read more…