Home > News > 2011 > October 2011 > Adrian Waddingham comments on David Pitt-Watson’s suggestion today that compulsory workplace pensions schemes might burden their members.
Adrian Waddingham comments on David Pitt-Watson’s suggestion today that compulsory workplace pensions schemes might burden their members.
“This fear is exaggerated. First, many pensioners now enjoying good company pensions might not have be doing so had their employers not made pension plan membership a condition of employment. Sadly this right was taken away by misguided legislation in 1988. Human nature being what it is, younger employees have seen little merit in joining voluntary schemes – even those which do not require member contributions.
“Secondly the pensions mis-selling scandal was by personal arrangements rather than workplace schemes. Employers take care in choosing their arrangements, and as Lord Turner commented in the Pensions Commission report in 2005, low expenses are a hallmark of good workplace schemes.
“Furthermore the coming FSA reforms of the commission arrangements on financial products will rein back the higher and inappropriate commission arrangements that lay behind the mis-selling scandal.
“Even at their best, workplace pension schemes only reached half the employed workforce and bringing more employees into pensions has to be good.”
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Adrian Waddingham or
Steph Gold