Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+

Personnel Today

Register
Log in
Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+

Auto-enrolmentPensions

Office of Fair Trading pensions probe could have gone further

by Jo Faragher 31 Oct 2013
by Jo Faragher 31 Oct 2013

The National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF) has criticised the recent market study by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) into workplace pensions, claiming its recommendations could have gone further.

The OFT’s study, launched earlier this year, warned that up to £40 billion of pension savings could already be sitting in schemes that were delivering poor value or were at risk of doing so. Earlier this week, pensions minister Steve Webb proposed a cap of between 0.75% and 1% on pension scheme charges in a bid to deliver greater value to savers.

FAQs on pensions auto-enrolment

Which employees qualify for automatic enrolment into a pension scheme?

What is a “qualifying scheme” under the pensions auto-enrolment provisions?

How much must employers and employees contribute into their pension scheme under the pensions auto-enrolment provisions?


Do the auto-enrolment provisions affect employers that already provide their employees with access to a pension scheme?

Responding to the OFT’s consultation, the NAPF says it agrees broadly with the long-term intentions of the study, particularly around the need for flexibility, the ability to switch schemes, transparency on charges and the lack of resource available for smaller-scale schemes.

However, the NAPF believes the OFT could have gone further in its short- and medium-term recommendations on governance and charges if they are to deliver the right outcomes for savers. One example it raises is that placing governance committees at provider level could lead to conflicts of interest. It also points out that placing a ban on discounts for active members could end up penalising staff where employers have chosen to pay charges on behalf of employees.

The NAPF recommends that employers, rather than providers, are given the obligation to put in place governance arrangements to protect savers. According to the modelling it has conducted into pension schemes, members whose schemes suffer from poor governance and high charges could end up losing up to a quarter of their savings.

Joanne Segars, NAPF chief executive, said: “We are pleased that the OFT study reflects some of our major long-standing concerns. But the success of its short- and medium-term recommendations will depend on how they are implemented by the Government and the industry. There are several barriers that need to be overcome before we can achieve the right outcomes – especially around governance.

“Acting quickly will ensure that pension savers, especially those who will be saving into a pension for the first time through automatic enrolment, benefit from these improvements from the outset.”

Sign up to our weekly round-up of HR news and guidance

Receive the Personnel Today Direct e-newsletter every Wednesday

OptOut
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

NAPF’s full response to the OFT consultation can be found here.

 

Jo Faragher

Jo Faragher has been an employment and business journalist for 20 years. She regularly contributes to Personnel Today and writes features for a number of national business and membership magazines. Jo is also the author of 'Good Work, Great Technology', published in 2022 by Clink Street Publishing, charting the relationship between effective workplace technology and productive and happy employees. She won the Willis Towers Watson HR journalist of the year award in 2015 and has been highly commended twice.

previous post
Mitigating factors make gross misconduct dismissal unfair
next post
Reviewing OH dermatitis and urticaria best practice

You may also like

TPT to launch multi-employer CDC pension scheme

12 May 2025

Millions at risk of retiring under-pensioned

30 Apr 2025

Two-thirds of healthcare workers threaten to quit without...

31 Mar 2025

Employee Benefits Awards 2025 shortlist revealed

24 Mar 2025

Boost pensions via salary sacrifice to offset NI...

17 Mar 2025

Government to ease DB pension surplus release restrictions

28 Jan 2025

Job hoppers have £16k more in pension savings...

21 Nov 2024

Qualified support for Reeves after Mansion House speech

15 Nov 2024

Rachel Reeves announces pension megafunds

14 Nov 2024

Budget 2024: encouraging growth does not come cheaply

29 Oct 2024

  • 2025 Employee Communications Report PROMOTED | HR and leadership...Read more
  • The Majority of Employees Have Their Eyes on Their Next Move PROMOTED | A staggering 65%...Read more
  • Prioritising performance management: Strategies for success (webinar) WEBINAR | In today’s fast-paced...Read more
  • Self-Leadership: The Key to Successful Organisations PROMOTED | Eletive is helping businesses...Read more
  • Retaining Female Talent: Four Ways to Reduce Workplace Drop Out PROMOTED | International Women’s Day...Read more

Personnel Today Jobs
 

Search Jobs

PERSONNEL TODAY

About us
Contact us
Browse all HR topics
Email newsletters
Content feeds
Cookies policy
Privacy policy
Terms and conditions

JOBS

Personnel Today Jobs
Post a job
Why advertise with us?

EVENTS & PRODUCTS

The Personnel Today Awards
The RAD Awards
Employee Benefits
Forum for Expatriate Management
OHW+
Whatmedia

ADVERTISING & PR

Advertising opportunities
Features list 2025

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin


© 2011 - 2025 DVV Media International Ltd

Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+