Being a pensions engagement business, yesterday’s budget was relatively light on the issues facing our clients. The main pensions features were:
- The Chancellor confirmed the triple lock mechanism would be abandoned, at least for one year. This means that the confirmed rate of increase to state pensions from April 2022 will be 3.1%.
- The government announced they will be introducing a top up arrangement for those low earners who are members of a net pay scheme. Since these individuals would otherwise lose out on tax relief advantages, in principle this is welcome. However, it has been a long time coming and the delay has been around the inability of HMRC systems to be able to cope with the complexities of their own making. Furthermore, it will not be available until 2024 and individuals have to apply for their top up, which will not be paid into their pension arrangement.
- A consultation was announced on the relaxation of the charge cap for DC pension arrangements. The objectives here appear to be (a) encouraging investment in illiquid assets and (b) allowing performance-related fees. Clearly environmental concerns have a role to play in pensions investment. If this is the main driver behind wanting to encourage investment in illiquid assets, then let’s see if it works. Because I have doubts and it’s hard to avoid this suspicion that the relaxation in charges originates from fund management industry pressure.
Also yesterday, although not part of the budget, some of the details around the McCloud remedy were published. The main details relate to the manner in which the legislation will be introduced over coming months. However there were some clues as to how the McCloud remedy may impact on individuals who have Lifetime and/or Annual allowance issues.
Whilst clearly the Chancellor has a wide range of concerns to address within the budget, this is a missed opportunity. The PLSA recently updated its guidance on retirement income living standards. This reinforces the concern that individuals simply do not save enough for their retirement. Those of us who work in this area day-to-day are fully aware of this. Unless and until the government seriously addresses this, any other attempts we make to improve the situation will mainly be at the margin