02 July 2009
The Association of Consulting Actuaries (ACA) has called for
more imaginative and flexible approaches to pension provision.
Charmain Keith Barton commented:
"For the last five years we have been commending to Government and
both Houses that there should be new 'middle way' occupational
pension solutions available to employers which sit between defined
benefit and defined contribution arrangements. These schemes would
provide reasonably predicable levels of retirement income for
members but which would be free from some of the burdensome
guarantees which have led to the demise of current schemes."
"In other words, 'middle way' schemes would provide greater
certainty of benefits for members compared with defined
contribution and greater certainty of costs for employers than
current defined benefit schemes."
"We warned last year, during the passage of the then Pensions
Bill that without such reforms, there would be more closures of
defined benefit schemes, with employers invariably choosing defined
contribution as their new arrangement."
"Regrettably, the Government blocked the reforms. In some
quarters, there seem to be those in denial about defined benefit
closures."
It was also said that reforms to MPs
pensions, due to shortly be reviewed by the ACA, may well be a
model for future public and private sector provision. The ACA acts
as the technical and administrative secretariat of the All-Party
Parliamentary Group on workplace pensions The full statement can be
read here: Full ACA Statement
