NAPF Response to Speech on State Pension reform

Responding to Iain Duncan Smith's speech today setting out the case for radical state pension reform, Joanne Segars, Chief Executive of the National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF) said:

"We are at a turning point for pensions in the UK.

"Radical state pension reform to create a single, simple and more generous state pension could take millions of pensioners out of poverty, and provide a firm foundation for saving for old age. For the first time in a generation, people would know that it pays to save.

"The NAPF has been at the forefront of arguing for a simpler and more generous state pension system. This is a golden opportunity for the

Government to begin meeting its commitment to 'reinvigorate occupational pensions' and to get the nation saving again. Today's commitment comes not a moment too soon."

The NAPF first proposed the Foundation Pension in its Pensions Manifesto ahead of the 2010 election in March last year. A foundation pension will radically simplify the state pension system by combining the basic and state second pension into a single pension above the level of means tested benefits. This will ensure that people can save for their retirement with the confidence that they will not have their savings eroded by means tested benefits.

Notes to Editors:

1. Joanne Segars, NAPF Chief Executive, is available for interview.

2. The NAPF is the leading voice of workplace pensions in the UK. It speaks for 1,200 pension schemes with some 15 million members and assets of around £800 billion. Its membership also covers around four million people with public sector pensions.

4. The NAPF’s Annual Investment Conference opens today in Edinburgh. A full programme can be seen here: www.napf.co.uk/Conferences_and_Seminars/Investment_Conference/Programme.aspx

Contact:

Paul Platt, Head of Media, NAPF, 020 7601 1717 or 07917 506 683, [email protected]

Christian Zarro, Press Officer, NAPF, 020 7601 1718 or 07825 171 446, [email protected]