New stats show Government's pensions obligations

The National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF) responded to figures released today by the Office of National Statistics showing the Government’s pensions obligations.

Mel Duffield, Head of Research at the NAPF, said:

“These are big figures, but it must be remembered that public sector pensions cover millions of past and current workers and, in the case of the state pension, most of the UK population.

“Public sector pensions need to be reformed to make them more sustainable. The current burden on the taxpayer is significant, but stripping these pensions back too much will only worsen the UK’s retirement savings crisis. All workers deserve a good pension, whether public sector or private.

“Retirement comes with a big price tag and we fear the burden on our society and our economy will only get worse. The core problem is that our society is not saving enough for its old age and so we will have to work longer or save more, or both. Retirement ages are rising and new rules to automatically place all workers in a pension will help, but more needs to be done.

“Despite the continued shift away from defined benefit pensions, which include final salary, the lion’s share of obligations for employers are still sitting in those schemes. Whilst defined contribution style schemes do not generate liabilities for employers in the same way, we can expect their importance to grow from later this year.”

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