Work and Pensions Committee Chair Stephen Timms comments on latest on Pensions Wise and the Pensions Dashboard programme

Commenting on today’s announcement by the DWP on the Pensions Wise service and the update on the Pensions Dashboard programme, Rt Hon Stephen Timms MP, Chair of the Work and Pensions Committee, said:

"Pension Wise offers a hugely valuable service for the pension savers who use it: nearly three quarters of them make a different decision after having its guidance. But unfortunately only a very small proportion of savers speak to Pension Wise. That leaves huge numbers of people at risk of making the wrong decision about accessing their pension savings"risking a lower quality of life in retirement and, in the worst case scenario, losing all of their pension savings to scammers."

"The approach the Government has outlined today is a step forward. Even on its own evidence, though, it seems unlikely to deliver a really major increase in the numbers of people who take guidance from Pension Wise."

"With the long-promised Pensions Dashboard still more than two years away, there is still much more to be done to support pension savers who want to access their pension. Early next year, the Committee will be looking in more detail at what the Government and the regulators are doing to ensure that people have the tools they need to make the right decisions."