Industry dissatisfied with government pensions policy
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The industry has marked government down on pensions policy, believing among others that not enough is being done to inform the public about retirement age 57, a new survey shows.
There is broad dissatisfaction amongst pensions professionals with the government’s handling of pensions policy, with fewer than half of respondents satisfied with the direction of pensions policy over the last six months, the Pensions Management Institute’s latest PMI Pulse survey shows.
Just half (49%) of those surveyed said they were satisfied; in June last year, almost 61% said they were satisfied. A large proportion (56%) are also pessimistic about the direction of pensions policy over the next six months.
One of the issues causing dissatisfaction is the government’s handling of the increase in normal minimum pension age from 55 to 57 in 2028 – less than a third said they were satisfied with how this has been dealt with. The industry is accusing government of lack of clarity and communication with the public – a failure the government has already been found guilty of by the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman in relation to women’s state pension age increases.
“Our research suggests that the government faces an uphill climb to convince the industry that it understands the most pressing issues and is taking action to tackle them,” said PMI vice president Rosie Lacey.
"The lukewarm feelings of those surveyed about the direction of pensions policy over the past six months and the six months ahead should be cause for reflection among officials. In particular, questions about the future of the pensions triple lock and the handling of the increase to the normal minimum pension age seem widespread. These are surely issues which the government should confront if they wish to have the confidence of the pensions industry,” she added.
The vast majority (81%) of pensions professionals are also sceptical about the future of the pensions triple lock – whereby state pensions rise by the highest of earnings, inflation or 2.5% - and doubt that it will exist in its current form in five years.
Industry expresses confidence in TPR's direction
More than half (58%) of those surveyed have been happy with the work of the Pensions Regulator over the past six months, with only a third dissatisfied, and two-thirds confident that it will focus on the right areas in the next six months.
One of TPR’s focus areas will be diversity and inclusion. Among pension professionals, half (49%) said their board did not have a diversity and inclusion policy, while 28% said their board did have a policy. The majority of those surveyed recognised the benefits of diversity and inclusion, with 58% mentioning the avoidance of groupthink and 55% citing the more accurate representation of the scheme membership as the biggest benefits.
