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04-Mar-08 11:10 [Pensions]
New approach to winding up pension schemes unveiled The Pensions Regulator, Pensions Protection Fund and the Department for Work and Pensions have issued a joint consultation paper aimed at speeding up the winding up process for pensions schemes.
It is hoped that such steps will ensure that scheme members will know sooner about the benefits they will be entitled to, while also ensuring that assets from a scheme are "maximised".
Minister for pensions reform Mike O'Brien said that when an occupational scheme closes, it is "deeply worrying" for its members.
"What they need in such circumstances is certainty rather than the anxiety of undue delays," he stated.
According to the minister, it is "reasonable" to expect a pension scheme to complete a the "key activities" of a wind-up in under two years, with the regulator able to intervene if this process "drags on".
Tony Hobman, Pensions Regulator chief executive, said that the organisations recognised that trustees will require support and so draft guidance has been published to provide assistance.
Commenting on workplace pensions earlier this week, Joanne Segars, chief executive of the National Association of Pension Funds, said that workers continue to "value" such provision.
New research from the Prudential has revealed that over one in three working-age adults have lost sleep over retirement worries, particularly in the face of a rising bills, higher house prices and a general sector slowdown.
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FTSE 100 company pension schemes have dropped £41 billion into the red after the effects of the credit crunch and stock market frailties, a report has said today.
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Members of the GMB that are employed by the British Airline Pilots Association (Balpa) have walked out today in a 24-hour protest over pensions, it has emerged.
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