Asked by: Nigel Mills (Conservative - Amber Valley)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
What steps her Department is taking to help protect pensions savers from disproportionate costs and charges.
Answered by Guy Opperman
On 13 January DWP published its review of the default fund charge cap. This included a commitment to end flat fees on pension pots of £100 and under.
At present, price comparison of the costs of automatic enrolled pensions is not possible – and this needs to change.
Protecting savers and giving them value for their money is my priority. I will be looking into standardisation of charges so savers can better assess the value for money of their investment.
Asked by: Nigel Mills (Conservative - Amber Valley)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent estimate his Department has made of the number of people saving into a pension scheme as a result of auto-enrolment.
Answered by Lord Harrington of Watford
Automatic enrolment will give around 11 million people the opportunity to save into a workplace pension. We expect around 10 million people to be newly saving or saving more by 2018. Figures released on 13 December by the Pensions Regulator show that over 7 million people have now been automatically enrolled by more than 341,000 employers.
Asked by: Nigel Mills (Conservative - Amber Valley)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of whether the proposed extension of the National Employment Saving Trust's operations into the retirement income market is consistent with that organisation's Public Service Obligation; and what the implications of that proposal are for competition in that market.
Answered by Lord Harrington of Watford
We have recently undertaken a Call for Evidence to consider whether the National Employer Savings Trust should offer decumulation services and extend access to the scheme. The Call for Evidence closed on 5 October, and the Government is considering the full range of evidence submitted, including the organisation’s Public Service Obligation, and effect on competition. We intend to publish our response in due course.
Asked by: Nigel Mills (Conservative - Amber Valley)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of the potential demand from members of the National Employment Savings Trust for retirement income products.
Answered by Lord Harrington of Watford
We have recently undertaken a Call for Evidence on whether the National Employment Savings Trust should be able to offer decumulation services and extend access to the scheme. We received a wide range of responses which we are taking into consideration, including evidence on the potential demand from members and impact on savers. We intend to publish a Government response in the New Year.
Asked by: Nigel Mills (Conservative - Amber Valley)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate his Department has made of the cost of implementing proposals to allow the National Employment Savings Trust to offer retirement income products to its members; and how much has been spent to date on implementation of those proposals.
Answered by Lord Harrington of Watford
We have recently undertaken a Call for Evidence to consider whether the National Employer Savings Trust should offer decumulation services and extend access to the scheme. The Call for Evidence closed on 5 October, and the Government is considering the full range of evidence submitted, including the likely potential implementation costs. We intend to publish our response in the New Year.