date: 19 September 2013
embargo: For immediate release
The TUC has today (Thursday) welcomed a report by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) which calls on the government to crack down on 'rip-off' pension schemes.
TUC General Secretary Frances O'Grady said: "This welcome report is a clear victory for union and consumer campaigning.
"Auto-enrolment is a huge advance as it will lead to many more workers saving for a pension. But they need the best possible protection to ensure that every pound they save provides the best possible income in retirement.
"This is why the OFT is absolutely right to crack down on abuses such as high charges and so-called active member discounts - charges that increase when people leave their employer.
"We welcome the government's plan to cap charges, but see the rumoured one per cent cap as simply a starting point in a process that sees charges brought down much closer to the 0.5 per cent level already achieved by some providers.
"But defined contribution (DC) pensions must not just be low cost, they need expert governance that runs schemes purely in the interests of their members."
NOTES TO EDITORS:
- The TUC's campaign plan can be downloaded from www.tuc.org.uk/campaignplan
- All TUC press releases can be found at www.tuc.org.uk
- Follow the TUC on Twitter: @tucnews
Contacts:
Media enquiries:
Liz Chinchen T: 020 7467 1248 M: 07778 158175 E: media@tuc.org.uk
Rob Holdsworth T: 020 7467 1372 M: 07717 531150 E: rholdsworth@tuc.org.uk
Elly Gibson T: 020 7467 1337 M: 07900 910624 E: egibson@tuc.org.uk
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