Law and Regulation

Kevin Wesbroom asks how damaging it would be if the next government put pensions tax relief on a par with ISAs

While last year's Budget put the focus firmly on DC, trustees still need to be aware of potential risks in their DB scheme say Peter Murphy and Arshad Khan.

The twin regulatory regime governing the pensions landscape could end up confusing scheme members over their at-retirement choices after April, experts say.

The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has banned two trustees from practice after they took part in an £11m liberation scam.

The next government should establish an independent pensions commission as soon as possible after the May general election, MPs have urged today.

The Association of Member Nominated Trustees (AMNT) has launched an initiative to give schemes more control over the companies they invest in.

Increased consumer choice under pensions freedom coupled with greater potential fraud risk has increased the argument for a single pensions regulator, MPs have said.

Providers have said a charge cap on income drawdown, as proposed by Labour leader Ed Miliband, is "unnecessary" and a "solution to a problem that does not even exist".

While the Budget flexibilities have been largely welcomed there remains one key area of concern for trustees – defined benefit (DB) to defined contribution (DC) transfers.

Delaying the tightening of pension transfer regulation until after the April pension freedoms could result in two months of confusion and poor decisions, it has been said.