Is the government's pension policy working?

With 9 out of 10 final salary pension schemes now closed to new members there are serious concerns that the UK government's pension policy is not working. More employers than ever before are also complaining about the cost of enrolling their members in pension schemes and indeed the introduction of new pension regulations has not helped the situation. The pension situation in the UK is now at a critical point and there is a need for new and innovative regulations in the short term.

Everything has now come together to create a nightmare scenario for the UK government with final salary pension schemes all but dead in the private sector, an ageing UK population and more and more pressure on the UK benefit system. The UK state pension has been falling in value in real terms for some time, even though this year saw something of a short-term fillip ahead of the election. This really is a very dangerous time for the UK pension industry which has seen new taxes and new regulations introduced under the current Labour government.

While some would argue that the government has introduced protection for UK pension fund members, a growing number believe the government has gone over the top and is now putting the future of the pension fund industry at risk.