NAPF: Time to take stock
It has been an exciting and demanding year for pensions and we are only just out of summer.
To describe the reforms introduced by the chancellor’s 2014 Budget as game-changing has become something of a cliché, but that’s exactly what they are.
Since March, pension schemes have been working harder than ever to understand what the changes mean for them and, more importantly, what they mean for their members.
We now have an opportunity to build on these changes and develop a pension system on which millions of people can depend
The National Association of Pension Funds Annual Conference next month will be a chance to come together as an industry to reflect, debate and plan how best to deliver these reforms. And this is on top of the continued roll-out of auto-enrolment, which is more important than ever to get right as employers with just 60 workers begin the process.
Scheduled just seven months before the next general election, the conference will be an opportunity to take stock and debate the future of pensions, together with ministers, regulators, senior EU policymakers and the wider pensions industry, to ensure we are able to provide the best possible retirement outcomes for UK savers.
As part of this we are looking forward to welcoming Sir Bob Geldof to the stage to explain what a 'society of more' might look like and what difference pension funds can make. Pensions minister Steve Webb and shadow pensions minister Gregg McClymont will each provide their 2020 vision for pensions, and NAPF chief executive Joanne Segars will unveil the NAPF’s comprehensive agenda for extending, increasing and improving workplace pension saving, ahead of May’s election.
The past five years have seen great change in the world of pensions. Auto-enrolment has brought more than 4m people into workplace pensions. State pension reforms have given greater clarity on what people can expect in their retirement from government.
Large schemes acting in members' interests have started to bring down costs and increase value. And the 2014 Budget reforms offer people potentially more flexibility in how they use their retirement savings.
We now have an opportunity to build on these changes and develop a pension system on which millions of people can depend, and the rest of the world will look to as an example.
To do this, the government and the pensions industry must work in partnership, and the NAPF will outline its six priorities to help us achieve this.
Will you be in Liverpool next month to join the debate?
Graham Vidler is director of external affairs at the NAPF