The initial euphoria following the 2014 “pensions bombshell” budget may have died away, but in it’s place we are seeing real progress towards a better deal for those spending their pension pots.
Work is concentrating on two areas, the building of a new and better products to help people manage their savings in retirement and the design to deliver the Guaranteed Guidance available to anyone retiring from next April.
We at the Pension PlayPen are proud to be playing a part in all this, being a part of the Annuity Framework Group that will help deliver Guidance and being regular visitors to the DWP and the Pensions Regulator, helping shape the Governance of the workplace pensions of the future.
We cannot allow a repeat of past policy failures, private pensions are in a last chance saloon and if we don’t get it right this time, the British Public may lose their confidence in pension for ever.
Our response to the Treasury Pensions Freedom command paper which will free us from the yoke of the annuity is available here
Our response to the DWP Measures for Savers command paper which will give us better workplace pensions is available here.
So what of these new products? Expect throughout the next twelve months to hear stories of new wonder pensions which will help you invest your savings, spend your savings and manage your overall finances.
If you’re interested in what the brave new world of workplace pensions looks like after 2015 read our thoughts on who will look after us , what they’ll look like and how we can deliver this guidance guarantee.
Watch out for more pensions news in the Queens Speech on June 3rd. We’re hope on hope that her majesty will announce an easement in rules which will help these new products fit into the New Annuity Framework. If we get this easement, we’ll have all we need to deliver Great British Pensions!
Nobody knows for sure whether auto-enrolment, the new workplace pensions , the guidance guarantee and the New Annuity Framework will work.
But we know that without us, it will fail. “Us” being the people who have to make it work! Whether you are tasked with sorting pensions for your employer or you are an adviser, accountant or other agent, you are probably as intimidated by auto-enrolment as we are!
We’ve set out to make one part of the process a little easier. Choosing a workplace pension is in some ways the easiest part- what could be easier than picking up the phone and calling NEST? But it is also the hardest to explain.
What will you say to your staff when they ask you why you chose the workplace pension you did?
What happens if something goes wrong with your workplace pension provider?
Where is your audit trail when you are asked to justify your decision?
A workplace pension is for life, not just for “staging”.
Which is why we would like you to Register as a Pension PlayPen agent. It’s as simple as clicking this link www.pensionplaypen.com/register
If you want to find out more about what being an agent offers you and read testimonials from those who’ve used our Choose a Pension service , then click here https://www.pensionplaypen.com/static/about-pension-playpen-for-professionals
So far over 3m people have been auto-enrolled from only 10,000 companies. But there are another 8.5m employers waiting their turn and a massive 1.25m employers who are still to stage.
To make this happen we need to work together , to a common purpose, register with us today and use www.pensionplaypen.com to ensure your clients get a Great British Pension
