, Conservative MP for Delyn, has explained the
background to a debate on pensions, to be held in Westminster
Hall on December 8.
He says his focus will be on:
- Pension Credit – historically has a very low uptake and would
like to see how it is assessed/claimed changed to make it easier,
e.g. becomes a benefit that is provided automatically without a
claim having to be made.
- Costs & Charges
- Advice vs Guidance – the advent of things like the Money
Advice Service is good as it can offer guidance and explanations,
but it is often seen as a replacement for proper advice, which it
definitely should never be. Financial advice, however, needs to
go through wholesale changes - the industry needs to get into the
21st Century, improve transparency, and work on set
fees for set work either on an hourly rate or on a fixed project
fee basis.
- Auto-Enrolment – while this is an achievement, worried about
“complacency risk” that people will look at the 8% that goes into
pensions and think that they are going to have a really good
retirement, percentages should be higher
- Annual Allowance and Lifetime Allowance – There is a limit
each year as to how much people can put into a pension, and a
limit on how much you can have built up in pension pots overall
in your lifetime. Breaching either the annual or lifetime limits
can cause punitive tax charges. The annual allowance is a
particular problem, should be focussed more on a lifetime
allowance, because saving should be encouraged.
says: “I’m holding the debate because, as a former
financial planner, I am very much aware of how important pensions
are in everyone’s lives, and just how little attention most
people pay to them.
"Discussions and debates on the future directions for pension
policy are important to every MP’s constituents, and it’s vital
to shape that future direction in a positive way so that we can
ensure that people get as good a retirement as they can."
