The Pensions Act has received Royal Assent but has not met with equal enthusiasm from business.
The Act sets up a 400m Pension Protection Fund (PPF), which is intended to provide better protection for the accrued rights of staff with defined benefit occupational pension schemes in organisations that become insolvent.
It also creates a Pensions Regulator to act on instances of fraud, maladministration and under-funded schemes.
However, the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) has called it a wasted opportunity to restore employer confidence in pensions.
John Cridland, CBI deputy director general, said the Act had become complex and confusing and might have the effect of encouraging firms to move away from final salary schemes as it has no financial backing from the Government.
He said that if the Government will not act as guarantor of last resort it could place an open-ended liability on many firms, with defined-benefit schemes driving them away from offering such schemes.
The CBI had also called for the PPF levy to be shared between employers and pension scheme members.
What will the pensions Act mean for HR? Go to www.personneltoday.com/indepth
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