NAPF urges the Government to press ahead with Define Ambition proposal

The National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF) today (Thursday) responded to the Government’s Defined Ambition (DA) consultation to introduce greater risk sharing and to remove regulatory constraints from the pensions system.  

Helen Forrest, NAPF Head of Policy said: 

“The NAPF is pleased that the Government is consulting on the creation of sustainable defined benefit and innovative defined contribution schemes that can better balance the risks of saving between pension scheme members and their employers. This should create a genuinely ‘mixed’ economy of pension provision.

“Defined Ambition offers a once in a generation opportunity to overhaul the tax and legislative system for pension schemes and develop a framework that allows a variety of models to flourish in the future and meet the needs of our changing, and ageing, society.

“But the timing of any legislation will be critical. Employers who contract in their defined benefit pensions between now and 2016 are already hard up against it. This legislative framework will alleviate the administrative burden and costs of contracting in so the NAPF urges the Government to co-ordinate the timing of legislation for the new Defined Ambition framework to support these employers."

Commenting on the immediate priorities in the pension system, Ms Forrest said:

“Defined Ambition will not be for everyone. Automatic enrolment will see 5-9 million people saving into a defined contribution pension for the first time by the end of this decade so it is vitally important that the schemes people are currently saving in are fit for purpose. The Government and the industry must step up efforts to improve transparency around charges and ensure all schemes have effective governance in place.”

 

Notes to editors:

1. The NAPF is the leading voice of workplace pensions in the UK. We speak for 1,300 pension schemes with some 16 million members and assets of around £900 billion. NAPF members also include over 400 businesses providing essential services to the pensions sector.

Contacts:

Lucy Grubb, Head of Media and PR, NAPF, 020 7601 1726 or 07713 073023, [email protected]

Aimee Savage Richards, Press Officer (interim), 020 7601 1718 or 07825 171 446, [email protected]