Some of you will recall that the subject of pension contribution refunds from Occupational Pension Schemes has been under review for a few months now.
For those not up to speed on this, my post refers: https://www.jelfgroup.com/blog/2011/02/refunds-of-pension-contributions-a-call-for-evidence/
Whilst this may not appear seismic at first glance, this is actually a very important decision for The DWP.
With auto-enrolment just over the horizon, and NEST unable to provide such refunds, a decision to allow Occupational schemes to continue with short-service refunds could spark another huge shift in company pension provision back to occupational pension schemes (and away from the Group Personal Pensions that are widely used today).
So where are we now? Well, to be honest the industry was really expecting the result before the Summer hols, but as you can see from the attached link, it looks like we are going to have to wait until the Autumn for any steerage on this one:
In the meantime, and as The Minister has said, it would be foolish to work on the assumption that such refunds will continue for Defined Contribution schemes.
Will keep you posted.
Best regards
Steve
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