Sackers calls upon the industry to support the PLSA’s proposal for greater support for retirement decision making

Sackers calls upon the industry to support the PLSA’s proposal for greater support for retirement decision making.

Sackers partner Helen Ball commented: ”To date, DWP and TPR’s focus has quite rightly been on DC accumulation due to the small number of schemes that offer decumulation options within the scheme and the relatively young DC population. However, as we move towards a time when more people will be relying on their DC benefits in retirement it’s only right that Government turns their attention to decumulation.”

“We are currently awaiting the Call for Evidence on DC decumulation from the Government which has been promised for this month. It is expected that this will cover investment pathways, something that has been required of contract-based schemes since February 2021. We believe, like the PLSA, that this is not enough and that a wider scope is needed to help members turn their savings into retirement income, and that it should cover communications and governance alongside the development of decumulation products.”

Ball concluded: “Hearts may sink at the thought of another “branch” of DC legislation being developed as we already have quite a complicated set of DC governance rules in place. But pensions are complicated, with many members being confused, disengaged and often making the wrong decisions. As an industry we owe it to them to help them make good retirement choices, and we very much look forward to contributing to the debate.”

For more on this see Helen’s blog post here.