24 January 2012
Pensions minister Steve Webb is considering lifting the
statutory restrictions on the National Employment Savings Trust
(NEST) in response to new entries to the auto-enrolment market.
In the House of Commons on Monday, the minister said he would
discuss the issue in more detail with the Department for Work and
Pensions select committee enquiry into automatic enrolment on
Wednesday.
Answering a question from Labour pensions spokesman Gregg
McClymont, Mr Webb said: "Labour introduced these restraints but
the situation has moved on with unforeseen competitive developments
in the market so we need to reflect on whether we should lift
them."
Under the current legislation, NEST members will have an annual
contribution cap of £4,200 and transfers in and out of the
scheme are banned - restrictions MPs have claimed will hamper the
scheme.
In our evidence to the select committee, Alison-Jane Bailey,
Head of Policy & Technical Development, said that we were not
sure of the relevance of the restrictions remaining in place any
more.
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