Pension Protection Fund and Pensions Regulator Debate

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Department: Department for Work and Pensions

Pension Protection Fund and Pensions Regulator

Lord Stoneham of Droxford Excerpts
Thursday 13th July 2017

(7 years, 5 months ago)

Lords Chamber
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Baroness Buscombe Portrait Baroness Buscombe
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I entirely accept what my noble friend has proposed; I am very much hoping that this will be part of the many issues covered in the White Paper.

Lord Stoneham of Droxford Portrait Lord Stoneham of Droxford (LD)
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Surprisingly, the section of the Conservative manifesto on protecting private pensions did not mention George Osborne’s policy of enabling people to cash in their pensions, which was introduced without very much consultation. Today’s FT says that this change is not,

“a palpable fiasco, but the early signs do not look promising”.

So what are the Government doing to protect people from being duped—or was this simply a short-term measure to raise tax revenue?

Baroness Buscombe Portrait Baroness Buscombe
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My Lords, I too read the article in the Financial Times this morning. The truth is that these pension freedoms are proving very popular. However, they raise important issues around the operation of the market and how we support consumers, so we will be working with the Financial Conduct Authority on the next steps to address this issue.