The government's plan to introduce greater risk-sharing between employers and employees is likely to need primary legislation and could consist of two or three models, pensions minister Steve Webb told a conference yesterday.

Schemes should be actively informing members about annuity options, experts have said, after the Financial Services Authority announced plans last week to investigate the market.

Leading industry figures have outlined key areas for the government to target in the simplification of auto-enrolment processes, after Steve Webb announced plans to "iron out" issues in time for smaller employers' staging dates. 

The majority of small and medium-sized employers already providing workplace schemes are planning to offer more generous contributions than the bare minimum auto-enrolment rates, consultants have said.

Prudential Staff Pension Scheme has opened up the option for active members to transfer registered pension plans into its defined contribution section to help them better manage their retirement outcomes.

The Office of Fair Trading’s investigation into workplace pensions is too strongly focused on charges and overlooks areas such as administration and the level of service at schemes, industry figures have said.