New government must prioritise pensions, say PLSA

The Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA) calls on prime minister Boris Johnson’s new government to urgently follow through on its manifesto pledges for pensions. But it must not stop there if it wants to ensure more people achieve a better income in retirement.

Workplace pensions are a vital part of the UK economy, providing an essential retirement income for millions of workers and driving growth by investing £2 trillion in the UK economy.

Following the Conservative Party win at the general election, the PLSA has challenged the new government to ensure that everyone achieves a better income in retirement.

The PLSA’s pre-election manifesto called on the next government to promote better retirement outcomes for millions of UK savers by: carrying out the promise of the previous government to increase the salary band on which savings are made; to widen the scope of automatic enrolment so it includes more people on low earnings who have multiple jobs; and by 2030 to increase total contributions to 12% with half from the employer.

The new government is also called upon to ensure that a non-commercial Pensions Dashboard hosted by the Money and Pensions Service is set up, and that no others are allowed to operate until a full consumer protection regime is put in place.

Nigel Peaple, director of policy and research at PLSA, said: “Ensuring adequate contributions, fostering effective engagement and allowing well-run schemes to operate at appropriate scale provides the blueprint for making the greatest difference to the greatest number of people. We must get on with improving the system.”