• Home
  • Admin/Tech
  • Benefits
  • Buzz
  • DB
  • DC
  • Diversity
  • Investment
  • Law & regulation
  • Risk reduction
  • Events
  • Whitepapers
  • Spotlights
  • Digital Edition
  • PPTV
  • Newsletters
  • Sign in
  •  
      • Newsletters
      • Account details
      • Contact support
      • Sign out
     
    •  

      You are currently accessing ProfessionalPensions via your Enterprise account.

      If you already have an account please use the link below to sign in.

      If you have any problems with your access or would like to request an individual access account please contact our customer service team.

      Phone: +44 (0) 1858 438800

      Email: [email protected]

      • Sign in
  • Follow us
    • Twitter
    • LinkedIn
    • Newsletters
    • YouTube
  • Register
  • Subscribe
  • Events
    • Upcoming events
      event logo
      Investment Conference

      This two part Investment Conference will bring you the latest updates from economists, asset managers and pension consultants. We will be taking a look at the outlook for the 2021 economy, alternatives, cashflow strategies and global equity markets to name a few, assessing how they fared through the volatility and what we can expect for the year ahead.

      • Date: 27 Jan 2021
      • Digital Conference
      event logo
      Webinar: What to put on your GMP Equalisation project roadmap for 2021

      This webinar will bring together views from actuaries, lawyers, administrators, trustees and data experts to look at the pragmatic, collaborative solutions that are open to schemes to solve the GMP equalisation challenges in 2021. It will assess the individual challenges schemes face with equalisations and provide some practical options that are available to resolve these issues.

      • Date: 02 Feb 2021
      • Webinar
      event logo
      Webinar: Will the world return to normal in 2021?

      In this webinar, PP editor Jonathan Stapleton will be joined by BMO’s chief economist Steven Bell and director of fiduciary management, Christy Jesudasan, alongside PTL trustee director Melanie Cusack and Isio’s head of fiduciary management oversight Paula Champion to discuss the significant impact of these themes on the pensions sector.

      • Date: 04 Feb 2021
      • Webinar
      event logo
      Webinar: Investing for the transition to net-zero

      Pension schemes are now facing increasing government, regulatory, and member demand to manage the financial risks associated with the anthropogenic consequences of the environmental crisis. But how best to manage this transition to net-zero? And, in the rush to invest in carbon friendly assets, are investors potentially missing out on potential returns generated by the transition theme, investing in assets that may not be carbon neutral but have the potential to significantly improve their environmental credentials over time. This webinar will discuss at the transition theme, look at the opportunity set available and ask how this can help schemes achieve superior returns while moving towards a net-zero portfolio.

      • Date: 11 Feb 2021
      • Webinar
      View all events
      Follow our Professional Pension Events

      Sign up to receive email alerts about our events

      Sign up

  • Whitepapers
    • How DC schemes can gain exposure to different asset classes in a low-return environment

      So far, DC plans have largely been focused on the onset of auto-enrolment and changes to the regulatory framework - be it the ‘charge cap,' ‘pension freedoms' or consultations around ‘value for money', says Annabel Tonry, Executive Director at J.P. Morgan Asset Management (JPMAM).

      Download
      Pension freedoms three years on

      In 2015 George Osborne, then the UK Chancellor of the Exchequer, decided that those age over 55 could take much more of their pension in cash. This has since opened up a range of possibilities for DC scheme members in the world of pensions.

      Download
      Find whitepapers
      Search by title or subject area
      View all whitepapers
  • Spotlights
  • Digital Edition
Professional Pensions
Professional Pensions
  • Home
  • Admin/Tech
  • Benefits
  • Buzz
  • DB
  • DC
  • Diversity
  • Investment
  • Law & regulation
  • Risk reduction
 
    • Newsletters
    • Account details
    • Contact support
    • Sign out
 
  •  

    You are currently accessing ProfessionalPensions via your Enterprise account.

    If you already have an account please use the link below to sign in.

    If you have any problems with your access or would like to request an individual access account please contact our customer service team.

    Phone: +44 (0) 1858 438800

    Email: [email protected]

    • Sign in
  • Law and Regulation

The five lessons of AE: Nest report details UK pension reform journey

Blair: There were obvious challenges in pensions around costs and sustainability
Blair: There were obvious challenges in pensions around costs and sustainability
  • Nick Reeve
  • 06 February 2020
  • Tweet  
  • Facebook  
  • LinkedIn  
  • Send to  
0 Comments

Former ministers and policymakers reveal how AE was developed in new research project from Nest Insight and the University of Bath. Nick Reeve reports.

Nest's research arm has teamed up with researchers at the University of Bath on a report detailing the extensive pension reforms that led to the introduction of auto-enrolment.

The research includes new interviews with former prime ministers Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, the members of the Turner Commission, and other leading policymakers and pensions industry leaders - all of which will be made public through a new archive.

Speaking at a launch event for the research project last night, Helen Dean, Nest's chief executive officer, said one of the reasons for setting up Nest Insight was to ensure that the lessons learned through the reforms were preserved.

"It's really essential that those lessons are captured, and essential that they're shared with academics and policymakers across the world," Dean said.

The report - Pension Reforms in the UK: 1997 to 2015 - highlighted five lessons from the 18 years of policy development and negotiations that could be used in future policy work.

The report's authors - University of Bath Institute for Policy Research professor Nick Pearce and research associate Dr Thomais Massala highlighted the "small, independent, politically astute" commission, led by Lord Adair Turner, as well as "continuous commitment" from ministers and civil servants across several governments.

The authors also emphasised the importance of a "strong and robust evidence base that underpinned a coherent package of key policy proposals", a "bold sense of direction with proactive consensus building" and the "consistency of the reforms with the historical architecture and political economy of the UK welfare state".

The research was based on dozens of government, academic and media articles documenting the development of pensions policy since 1997. The authors also conducted extensive interviews with policymakers and industry figures from throughout the period.

Interviewees included the Turner Commission's members Lord Turner, Baroness Jeannie Drake, and Professor Sir John Hills, and industry figures such as Nest and BT Pension Scheme chairman Otto Thoresen, former Nest chief executive Tim Jones, and former PLSA chief executive Joanne Segars.

Pearce explained: "The Turner Commission and the implementation of its recommendations is often considered an exemplary piece of policy reform, and with good reason.

"The Commission proposed a coherent and comprehensive package of reforms, based on rigorous analytical work, and built a consensus behind its proposals. The reform process was sustained across more than a decade and was taken forward by governments of different political persuasions. It succeeded in large part because it went with the grain of the UK's welfare state."

Massala added: "By drawing on the expertise and insights of those who were most closely involved in these changes, our hope is that this new research can shine a spotlight on both how and why pension reform was achieved and offer up important lessons to policymakers."

Vogue for commissions

Sir Steve Webb, the former pensions minister who oversaw the introduction of auto-enrolment, said the research would shed light on what helped the project succeed.

"There's very much a vogue at the moment for ‘commissions'," Webb told attendees at the event in London last night. "Everyone says that, because of the Turner Commission, we could fix pensions tax relief or the state pension age, if only we just had a commission.

"I think what is really interesting is how this research will shed light on how much it was about having a commission, and what it was about this commission in particular. I do think there were a lot of very special factors [about the Turner Commission]."

The 54-page document covers the beginnings of the Tony Blair-led Labour government's focus on social welfare and pensions, through to the Turner Commission, the development of auto-enrolment and the rolling out of the policy across the UK.

Find out more about the project here: https://www.bath.ac.uk/projects/the-uk-pensions-policy-project/

  • Tweet  
  • Facebook  
  • LinkedIn  
  • Send to  
  • Topics
  • Law and Regulation
  • Gordon Brown
  • University of Bath
  • Turner Commission
  • Helen Dean
  • University of Bath Institute for Policy Research
  • Nick Pearce
  • Thomais Massala
  • Adair Turner
  • Lord Turner
  • Baroness Jeannie Drake
  • John Hills
  • BT Pension Scheme
  • Otto Thoresen
  • Tim Jones
  • PLSA
  • Joanne Segars
  • Steve Webb
  • Tony Blair

More on Law and Regulation

More companies may seek approval for corporate actions that may impact their schemes
New TPR powers could lead to upsurge in clearance applications

The Pension Regulator’s (TPR) strengthened powers under the Pension Schemes Bill could lead to a revival of its clearance process, according to advisers and lawyers.

  • Law and Regulation
  • 21 January 2021
Pension Schemes Bill gets final approval and waits for Royal Assent

The long-debated Pension Schemes Bill has received parliamentary approval, guaranteeing its place on the statute book.

  • Law and Regulation
  • 20 January 2021
DB transfers are on a downward trend
FCA data reveals over £20bn of DB transfers between 2018 and 2020

Some £20.1bn of defined benefit (DB) pensions were advised to transfer between 2018 and 2020, while £10.2bn were recommended not to transfer, Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) data reveals.

  • Law and Regulation
  • 18 January 2021
Amin: The new rules mean trustees will have to be corporate finance experts
Trustees will need to be corporate finance experts under new TPR powers

Pension trustees will have much more involvement in business discussions and corporates will need to think more about pensions when the watchdog’s increased powers come into force, LCP says.

  • Law and Regulation
  • 18 January 2021
Blyth: Anticipating a call for ways to draw a line under disputes
Is mediation set to become the new normal for pension disputes?

Mediation has been under-utilised historically as a means of dispute resolution in this area. Mark Blyth and Geoff Egerton think this is going to change.

  • Law and Regulation
  • 15 January 2021
blog comments powered by Disqus
Back to Top

Most read

Mark Stocker dies following cancer battle
Mark Stocker dies following cancer battle
Pension Schemes Bill gets final approval and waits for Royal Assent
Pension Schemes Bill gets final approval and waits for Royal Assent
L&G agrees £400m deal with own scheme
L&G agrees £400m deal with own scheme
PLSA unveils six policy board appointments
PLSA unveils six policy board appointments
Boohoo acquisition of Debenhams leaves schemes with PPF
Boohoo acquisition of Debenhams leaves schemes with PPF
Trustpilot

 

  • Contact Us
  • Marketing solutions
  • About Incisive Media
  • Terms and conditions
  • Policies
  • Careers
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Newsletters
  • YouTube

© Incisive Business Media (IP) Limited, Published by Incisive Business Media Limited, New London House, 172 Drury Lane, London WC2B 5QR, registered in England and Wales with company registration numbers 09177174 & 09178013

Digital publisher of the year
Digital publisher of the year 2010, 2013, 2016 & 2017
Loading