A round-up of the latest developments that may affect your pension…
New protection for pension savers
Pension savers will soon benefit from greater protection, thanks to a new Pension Schemes Bill.
The bill will extend the sanctions that can be delivered by The Pensions Regulator (TPR), including larger financial penalties and new criminal charges to deter companies that abuse the pension system.
It will also tighten the rules around transfers, offering more protection from pension scams, which often exploit the transfer process.
The Pension Schemes Bill is now in the final stages of passing through Parliament and is expected to be in law shortly.
Once approved, the bill will also mean that workplace pension schemes have to consider climate change in their operations and investment decisions and report back to members on how that’s been done. We will keep you updated as this moves forward.
Minimum Pension Age to rise
The Government plans to increase the minimum age for accessing pension savings, from 55 to 57. This is expected to come into force from 2028.
It will tie in with an increase to the State Pension age, which will rise from 66 to 67. State Pension age is then likely to remain ten years above the minimum pension age moving forward.
It is unclear whether these changes will affect existing members, but we will let you know as soon as we can. In the meantime you can check your State Pension age at https://www.gov.uk/state-pension-age
Pensioners living in the EU
The UK officially left the EU on 1 January 2021.
If you’re a British citizen living abroad, then this departure should have little impact on your pension income. UK law still allows workplace pensions to be paid overseas, and the Government currently does not expect that to change.
However, some UK banks have started closing accounts belonging to British people who now live in the EU. Please check with your bank to find out if this affects you and let us know of any changes as soon as possible to make sure you can continue getting your pension.