“It is impossible to stand here six weeks before 6 April and say the government is ready – that is a statement of fact not an attribution of blame,” said ABI director general Huw Evans during an ABI retirement conference in London.
Evans said that – while most providers had welcomed the pension reforms announced in last year’s Budget – there are still many questions which have been left unanswered.
He highlighted several problems with the Pension Wise service, which has been set up to offer free and impartial guidance. These issues include the lack of:
- Final tax rules on annuity payments to beneficiaries
- Details on how Pension Wise sessions will be structured so advisers and providers know what has been covered
- A phone number for the service
- Official estimates of the number of people expected to use the new service and the waiting times
- Rules from the Financial Conduct Authority guiding providers on how they need to interact with customers, particularly those who refuse to take up Pension Wise guidance
- Details on the regulation of lump sum payments from trust-based schemes
“The government has simply not been able to deliver enough at this stage to ensure the reforms have a flying start when they go live,” said Evans. “Critical pieces of the jigsaw are still missing and will not be in place in time.
“I see no point in a blame game and would hope this will not develop as the reforms go live, despite the pressures of the pre-election period.”
Evans also emphasised that the introduction of the pension reforms on 6 April is “not a deadline, it is simply the start of new freedoms”, and said people should not be rushed into making quick decisions about their pension savings.
