I was recently quoted in PlanSponsor magazine on the subject of pensions/auto-enrolment in Scotland should independence happen. My thoughts, such as they were, can be seen via the following link: http://goo.gl/iHVuMi
Now this is not a subject that I have been that involved in to any great extent as, living in darkest Kent, my home location is closer to France and Belgium than most English (let alone Scottish) cities. But now that this topic has crossed my radar it certainly appears to be a worthy subject for this blog.
Should separation from the UK happen, the Scots would already be well down the route of Auto-Enrolment, and it’s likely that many would already be enrolled into NEST. This may be fine if the two taxation systems and currency remain the same, but it would present some challenges should either of these elements vary.
An alternative (as already suggested) would be a Scottish version of NEST. Would this be set up as a separate division of NEST, or would it perhaps be a separate scheme and/or provider? If the latter, from where would the start up funds for this project arise (the UK NEST was funded by a Government loan initially)?
And of course, independence might well create some pension and communication issues for any employers with employees on both sides of the border (be they UK or Scottish).
So plenty of uncertainty here and it will be interesting to see if this part of the independence debate becomes any clearer in the year before the vote takes place.
Best regards
Steve
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