Just a quick post this time, as it is 04:39 in the morning, and I need to get out on the road to my first meeting of the day (and, arguably, get a life also).
A subject that you will hear much more about, probably at our next London event, is Pension Reform and the means testing of state pensions. It’s a bit of a lenghthy article, and very much aimed at the pensions industry rather than employers, but the attached article gives this conversation some context:
http://www.moneymarketing.co.uk/channels/corporate-adviser/pensions/means-to-an-end?/1025022.article
Auto-enrolment and means testing do not sit well together (particularly where the level of employer contributions is relatively low), and it is a real swine for the Government (of whatever stripe) to deal with. I do believe that something will be done around this soon though, as otherwise it’s bad headlines waiting to happen.
For the record, means testing has been a background problem in UK pensions for a long time, auto enrolment just highlights this again.
As I am quoted as saying in this article (and as many will have heard me say before):
“My argument was and is, it is much better to have the income coming to you and not be reliant on means-tested benefit. They can change the rules and with the current economics, they are changing the rules at a whim, but when it is your pension, it’s your pension. “
Best regards
Steve
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