30
A pension statement season would be a short period each year when schemes were required...
Recommendation
A pension statement season would be a short period each year when schemes were required to send savers annual pension statements. We are not convinced that the gains from a statement season will justify the complexity of introducing it. In our view, the measure is at best a stopgap until pension dashboards are available. Given the likely cost and disruption to the industry, we recommend that the Government be prepared to adapt or drop its proposal for a pension statement season if the benefits cannot be robustly demonstrated.
Paragraph Reference
119
Government Response
Not Addressed
Government Response
Not Addressed
HM Government
Not Addressed
We want to ensure that people have a general awareness of pensions, know about the importance of planning for retirement, and have access to the information they need to do this. We welcome the industry led campaign for Pensions Engagement Season, starting in September 2022, aligning messaging across the sector and supporting savers to engage with their pensions. We recognise the challenges of delivering a statement season. However, the current system is sub-optimal for members and DWP believes that there is more that can be done. We will continue to look at ways that we can prompt people to engage with their pensions, including what role annual benefit statements can play.
Source
Committee
Work and Pensions Committee
Inquiry
Protecting pension savers – five years on from the Pension Freedoms: Accessing pension savings
Addressee Bodies
Department for Work and Pensions
Timeline
Recommendation age
4.4 yrs
Report published
18 Jan 2022