Tuesday 14 October 2014

Ninth But Slipping

We’re ninth again. The same as last year. But for how long?

Mercer’s Worldwide Global Pension Index puts the UK behind Denmark, the Netherlands, Australia and Chile among others, but well ahead of France, Italy, China and India.

The warning is though that with the new reforms (the Taxation of Pensions Bill was published today), we will slip down the rankings. More freedom to take a pension in various forms comes with a health warning. If savers can’t manage those savings well and spend their pension pot before they die, then they fall back on the State. It’s happened in Australia (called ‘double dipping') and could happen here.

In the name of freedom, our rankings may fall.

So much depends on good communication and advice. Osborne is enjoying positive pension headlines today with the publishing of the Pensions Bill, but if the government don’t back it up with adequate education and advice, we’ll be slipping down that table.


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