08 September 2006
Fidelity International has put forward plans for a new simple
pension scheme, the Open Personal Account, as an alternative to the
National Pension Savings Scheme.
Whilst Fidelity's Open Personal Account is being proposed as an
alternative to the National Pension Savings Scheme, its will adhere
to the principles set out in the recent Pensions White Paper.
Simon Fraser, the president for European institutional and
retirement businesses at Fideity International, said that his
company's new scheme would offer a compromise between giving those
who wanted a wider choice of investment options their wishes, while
also not punishing those who wanted a more simple retirement
solution.
"We believe the Open Personal Account model strikes the right
balance between two sets of objectives," he said.
"On the one hand, it encourages more people to save more for
their retirement. On the other, it preserves the right to choose
for people who want a greater diversity of investment."
Mr Fraser added that "better retirement benefits through the
workplace is critical to putting the UK back on track to a healthy
pension future" but that a balance between the active investors and
passive retirement planners was needed.
