personal accounts

A national system of generic advice could cost just £50m, less than half the estimated figure published in a Select Committee report, claims the Resolution Foundation.

Government plans on how to integrate pensions information between the state scheme and personal accounts, should include details of how scheme members can access advice from IFAs.

The decision not to allow transfers in and out of personal accounts could lead to employees being trapped in "high charging, poor value personal pensions", warns the Trades Union Congress.

Government policy on personal accounts may have to be "revisited" if the Thoresen review into generic advice fails to identify a short, simple and easy to understand way of providing information on whether to opt-in or out of personal accounts, warns...

Gordon Brown's decision to cut the basic rate of income tax to 20% was clearly signposted by the proposals for tax relief on personal accounts, claims Standard Life.

The government is being ‘optimistic' about the amount of new savings which will be generated by personal accounts, claims Aegon Scottish Equitable.

Xafinity Paymaster believes it is possible to administer personal accounts at a cost of around £10 per saver, despite many in the pensions industry claiming such low charges are impossible.

A ‘light touch' regulatory system should be introduced for the existing pensions market to allow current schemes to operate on a level playing field with personal accounts, claims the Association of British Insurers (ABI).

The ability to take tax-free cash should be prohibited in personal accounts, as this would cut the cost of tax relief and help subsidise the scheme, claims First Actuarial.

An annual management charge of 0.5% on personal accounts could produce borrowing costs of up to £4.5bn and could take almost 30 years to repay, warns the Pensions Policy Institute (PPI).