A
leading HR consultancy has called on the Government to create a new independent
and apolitical pensions authority to take a long-term outlook on pensions and
bring an end to the pensions crisis.
The
Mellon HR consultancy said pensions problems would not
be resolved without a fundamental change in the underlying process of policy
development and implementation.
The
Pensions Bill, which will establish a Pension Protection Fund as well as a pensions regulator is scheduled to become law in April 2005.
However, Mellon HR said the Bill contained failures that had to be addressed.
The
consultancy claims that a single independent body able to design and implement
a cohesive consistent and comprehensive pensions regime would enable greater
weight to be placed on the views of full-time pensions experts, rather than
politicians. This would enable vital and appropriate policy decisions to be
taken and implemented.
Kevin
LeGrand, head of technical services at Mellon HR,
said the country could continue to have brief flirtations with short-lived
policy initiatives.
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“It
is high time politicians took a step back and let the professionals get on with
the job of designing and implementing a pensions
policy for the long-term,” he said.
