date: 14 June 2007
embargo: immediate
Warm welcome for Personal Accounts pension plans
Commenting today (Thursday) on the Government's White Paper on Personal Accounts, the new pensions system designed to start in 2012, TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber said:
'This is another historic step on the road to building a new pensions system that fills the gap left by the collapse in employer support for quality pensions. It brings further forward the day when employers will have to contribute to pensions and is therefore a real victory for a long union campaign.
'Ministers have done well to construct a wide consensus around the new system, and the proposals published today will further embed a new pensions architecture based on employer contributions, an index linked state retirement pension and a new deal for women and carers.
'We all understand that rows and conflict make better news than consensus and agreement, but today is a significant day in the history of pensions and should be recognised as such. This is a red-letter day for people at work today who are not lucky enough to have employers that provide a pension.
'We are particularly pleased to see that ministers have held fast to their rejection of the call made by some employers to introduce a waiting period before new employees could claim an employer contribution.
'While we would have preferred a higher annual savings limit, we are pleased to see that the cap will be index-linked and that an ability to make other lump-sum contributions remains a real possibility.
'There is of course still work to do, and we hope that government will be able to signal changes that will help ensure everyone can benefit from a personal account such as raising trivial commutation limits and disregarding some personal account income in other benefit calculations. This would stop inaccurate talk of mis-selling from some vested interests for good.'
NOTES TO EDITORS:
Media enquiries: Elly Brenchley T: 020 7467 1337; M: 07900 910624;
E: ebrenchley@tuc.org.uk
Liz Chinchen T: 020 7467 1248; M: 07778 158175; E: media@tuc.org.uk
Press release (400 words) issued 14 Jun 2007
