Pension funds back MPs' call for Bank to explain QE

The National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF) commented on the Treasury Select Committee report into the Budget 2012, which calls on the Bank of England to provide an estimate of the overall benefit and loss to pensioners and savers from quantitative easing (QE).

Joanne Segars, NAPF Chief Executive, said:

“We support this call to see some strong analysis of the damage that QE is doing to pensioner incomes and pension funds. People are already worried about how to save for their old age and the lack of clarity around QE’s harmful side effects does not help.

“Pension funds and people who are retiring are being clobbered by QE. The latest cycle of QE has hit businesses with final salary pensions for £90bn, which is cash that could go into jobs and investment instead.

“People who are about to retire who are hunting for a good annuity will get a much worse deal than they did a few years ago. QE is leaving them out of pocket for the rest of their lives.

“We want to see a stronger economy and understand the case for this monetary policy, but the Bank should do more to explain its impact on pensioners and savers."

The NAPF today repeated its call for the Bank of England and the Pensions Regulator to issue a statement explaining the distorting effects of QE on pension fund deficits, to help offset the impact of these deficits on share values.

In early March 2012 the NAPF estimated that falling gilt yields have pushed final salary pension funds £90bn deeper into the red since the second wave of quantitative easing (QE) totalling £125bn started in October 2011.

 

Notes to editors:

The NAPF is the leading voice of workplace pensions in the UK. We speak for 1,200 pension schemes with some 15 million members and assets of around £800 billion. NAPF members also include over 400 businesses providing essential services to the pensions sector.

Contacts:

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