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16-Sep-08 12:15 [Pensions]
TUC: Stand firm on qualifying earnings The Trades Union Congress (TUC) has told the government to stand firm on its Pensions Bill in the face of "unscrupulous" employers.
In a statement today, the congress told of sending a letter to pensions minister Mike O'Brien to express its support for the broad definition of pay that is set out in the bill.
Kay Carberry, the TUC's assistant general secretary, stated that if it was not widely drawn, the bill could have potential for unscrupulous employers to redefine part of a wage as a bonus in order to reduce pension contributions.
She continued: "We are worried that any move, even to meet legitimate problems, could have unintended consequences.
"Employers are already used to exploiting any potential loophole in tax legislation to minimise their tax bill and would do the same with pensions."
In the TUC's sixth annual PensionsWatch survey earlier this month, it was found that the average pension of a retiring director in one of the UK's top 102 companies took an average £200,000 a year.
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