More action is needed in 2020 to fulfil the promise made in 2019

With 2020 now in full swing, Stuart Price, below, partner and Actuary at pension experts Quantum Advisory, reflects on 2019 and the events that impacted the UK pension industry going forward

FROM a pension perspective, 2019 created a lot of potential and the foundations have been laid for some really positive changes in the sector, however, subsequent action is needed in 2020 and beyond to fulfil 2019’s promise.

Last January, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) launched the Single Financial Guidance Body (SFGB), designed to offer free, impartial financial guidance to the public, as well as introducing the muchanticipated pensions dashboard – an undertaking that is still yet to materialise.

The dashboard will allow everyone to access and manage all their private pension arrangements in one place along with their state pension. Despite the first version of the dashboard expected at some point during 2019, development is still ongoing, but it is very much worth waiting for. 2019 saw the rise of Collective Defined Contribution (CDC), which is an alternative option to the traditional choice of either Defined Benefit (DB) or Defined Contribution (DC) pension schemes. From within the industry, CDCs are seen as a positive new method of pension provision so it will be interesting to see how this develops. September saw the collapse of Thomas Cook and with it, the loss of 21,000 jobs worldwide. Thankfully many of the travel operator’s UK DB pension schemes were in a strong position – much more so than the likes of BHS and Toys R Us when they collapsed – so they did not need to enter the Pension Protection Fund (PPF). While members will not receive the full benefits they were expecting, they will receive better benefits than those provided by the PPF.

December saw the general election and all political parties making an abundance of pledges. The key promise that all major parties included in their manifestos was to maintain the triple-lock for existing pensioners which will see the state pension rise by 3.9% this April.

The Conservatives also confirmed they will give the Pensions Regulator more powers allowing it to be more forceful in ensuring that employers fund their DB schemes adequately.

“The controversial annual allowance, which currently sees senior NHS workers turning down extra shifts because of the impact it would have on their take-home pay, is being reviewed this year, and of course, the state pension age increases in October to 66 for both men and women.

On my wish list, I would also like to see a simplified pension tax regime to encourage pension saving for all, and new pension rules for the selfemployed so they are included, in some way, in the successful autoenrolment pension regime.

■ Quantum Advisory, which has offices in Amersham, Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, and London, provides pension and employee benefits services to employers, scheme trustees and members.