Retirement

‘If it ain't broke, don't fix it' - this well known saying sums up all there is to say about the direction of the latest paper aimed at making the open market option work better.

Saving into personal accounts could generate poor returns in retirement for vulnerable groups, including many women, according to research commissioned by the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) and conducted by the Pensions Policy Institute (PPI).

Barings Asset Management has proposed moving public occupational systems to fully funded institutions run along the line of CALPERS (the Californian Public Employee Retirement Scheme).

The Director General of the ABI, Stephen Haddrill, has called on the Government to raise the initial rate of employer contributions to Personal Accounts, from 1% in the first year to 3%.

Almost a third of advisers are automatically offering clients a SIPP if they are planning to invest more than a £1,000 a month, says Dunstan Thomas.

Around 12 million people have never reviewed their pension plans while a further 1.37 million have not carried out a pension review in the last five years, according to research by Barings Asset Management.

Dunstan Thomas has published a business guide for pensions advisers wanting to take advantage of the A-Day and Regulation Day changes.

Nine out of ten IFAs (88pc) believe increasing numbers of people will be unable to retire when they wish and retirement ages will rise significantly over the next ten year, according to Aegon's IFA Insights Research.

A £3,000 contribution cap on personal accounts would be sufficient for most low earners - including the self-employed - to achieve a replacement rate in retirement of two-thirds of their final salary.

The Department for Work and Pensions and the Trades Union Congress has teamed up to launch a network of ‘Pensions Champions' to deliver information and advice to workplaces across the country.