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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Pensions Regulator chief executive, said that the organisations recognised that trustees will require support and so draft guidance has been published to provide assistance.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.
The Pension Protection Fund (PPF) could be put under a large strain should the situation surrounding Woolworths deteriorate further, it has been stated.
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Nearly 1.7 million pensioners were relying on their property to fund their retirement, a recent study has revealed.
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Conservative leader David Cameron has stated his intention to increasingly move towards defined contribution pension schemes in the public sector and not final salary programmes, it has emerged.
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