Welcome to the Pensions Reform Group

"The Universal Protected Pension we put forward is the only workable scheme that guarantees to break the link between retirement and poverty" - Chair of the Pensions Reform Group, Rt. Hon. Frank Field MP.

The Pensions Reform Group was established in 1999 with membership drawn from politics, industry, academia, voluntary bodies, and other stakeholder groups. Our joint endeavour is to begin a serious and detailed debate on banishing pensioner poverty from our shores.

Latest News & Updates

Tuesday, 31 May, 2005

Turner Tells Savings Industry To Cut Cost Of Pension Plans

Addressing a trade association of investment companies earlier this week, Adair Turner warned that reducing the cost of savings for those on low and modest incomes would be a crucial factor in deciding whether to recommend a voluntarist rather than compulsory pension system.

"If ideas can be developed to reduce [administrative] and other costs . . . that would increase the area of the market across which a voluntarist free-market solution, rather than a state-run or state-assisted solution could achieve the desired results," Mr Turner said.

"One of the criteria by which we should judge different policy options is how they will improve the pension saving opportunities of the person of average earnings and below, working for a small or medium-size employer."

Mr Turner also used the speech to attack press reports suggesting the commission was proposing a system in which graduates would have to work until 70, while others could retire at 65. "The idea that you could have a pension system which specified a different pensionable age according to whether you are a graduate or not, would be unreasonable, utterly unworkable and the Pensions Commission [has] not spent one second considering it," he said.

Wednesday, 25 May, 2005

Turner Backtracks On Graduate Pension Delay

Adair Turner, the chairman of the Pensions Commission, was yesterday quoted as saying that people with university degrees tended to live longer and therefore might be expected to work longer than others. But as his remarks caused uproar Mr Turner backtracked, insisting he had been misunderstood and that the idea was "unworkable".

The Government will give the first indication of its plans for pensions next month but has ruled out graduates being made to work until 70. On June 21, the Work and Pensions Secretary David Blunkett will make a statement to the House of Commons which aims to "steer" the Turner Commission in the direction of specific proposals, not generalities.

Mr Blunkett's aides made clear he was going to rule out a "prescriptive" regime on different retirement ages.Mr Blunkett is expected to float the possibility of new incentives to save for retirement or compulsory saving. He is also expected to abandon his predecessor Alan Johnson's plan for a basic citizens pension.

Tuesday, 17 May, 2005

Draft pensions bill to be introduced in the coming session of Parliament

The Queen has unveiled plans for a draft pensions bill in her speech to both house of parliament.

It is expected that the detail for the bill will be largely dependent on the finding's of former business leader Adair Turner's commission on Britain's looming pensions crisis.

As well as continuing the reform of the welfare state, the Queen announced that the Government would begin "long-term reform to provide sustainable income for those in retirement".

Yesterday, it emerged that the Government's pensions lifeboat is headed for another multimillion-pound claim after it emerged that the trustees of the Courts pension scheme will make an appeal for help this Friday.

It would cost £30 million to buy pensions for all members in the Courts' scheme.

Also Norwich Union said yesterday that it planned to shift about 40,000 policyholders back into the state second pension in one of the biggest moves of its kind.

The policyholders - part of 220,000 still contracted out of the S2P at Norwich Union - will automatically be put back into the system unless they respond to a letter from Norwich Union.