The government and financial services industry need to work together to make sure people across the UK; irrespective of age, gender, wealth or employment status, are fully engaged with their retirement savings.
That is the message Aegon pension director Steven Cameron wants re-elected prime minister Boris Johnson to hear.
In their hands
Winning by a greater margin than was initially predicted, the Conservative Party is no longer reliant on a confidence and supply agreement with Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist Party (DUP).
This means that the fate of policy lies squarely in the hands of the Tories.
With such a “decisive election victory, we hope Boris Johnson will now not just ‘get Brexit done; but look beyond Brexit, focusing on those domestic priorities which have been left languishing”, Cameron said.
“Tax rules and relief must be fit for the future and work together without unintended consequences across all earnings bands.
“It can’t be acceptable that complex technicalities are leading to senior health professionals in the NHS refusing extra work or retiring early to escape pension tax charges,” he added.
Brought back to the fore
After being “put into mothballs after the election was announced”, Royal London pension specialist Helen Morrissey called on the government to “dust off” the Pensions Bill.
This would “allow the industry to make much needed progress on issues such as the pensions dashboard”.
A sentiment with which Quilter’s Jon Greer agrees.
“We need the government to snap into action and deliver some long-awaited promises,” the head of retirement policy said.
“The Pensions Bill, which includes the pension dashboard, was finally going to get the last seal of approval before the election, meanwhile most people have given up on the social care green paper as a lost cause.
“With the political posturing over, hopefully these policy areas will get the attention they deserve.”
But with the “dreaded B word” continuing to hover over everyone’s heads, Greer fears that “we still have some time to wait for any meaningful change”.
Not set in stone
The fact that pensions minister Guy Opperman retained his seat should hopefully mean there is at least some degree of continuity for plans drafted before the election.
But it is expected that there will be a minor cabinet shake up before Christmas, and potentially a more extensive changes in early 2020.
The new year will also bring with it a new budget – and an unrestrained Conservative Party might have some very different ideas.
