NAPF comments on 2015 General Election manifestos
21 April 2015
The NAPF has today commented on the pensions policies outlined in the manifestos published by the main political parties.
Joanne Segars, Chief Executive, NAPF, said:
“There is no doubt that pensions are politically valuable given that each one of the main political parties has sketched out some aspect of pensions policy in their manifesto. But what's notable by its absence from the debate is the concept of a long-term plan for pensions.
"It's understandably tempting for politicians to syphon a bit of cash from tomorrow's pensioners to pay the bill for today's political priorities. But this must go hand in hand with ensuring a decent retirement for tomorrow's pensioners, a decent deal for today's savers, and the stability of a pension system upon which everyone can depend not to change overnight.”
“Pensions are for the long-term but naturally governments often legislate for the short-term, to secure the next electoral cycle. Automatic enrolment broke this mould, but it was born of the Pensions Commission ten years ago.
“We believe it’s time to return to the source of that success and so we call on the next Government, of whatever hue, to establish a standing Independent Retirement Savings Commission. It’s time to put savers’ interests first; time to secure savers’ long-term interests not politicians’ short-term concerns.”
Notes to editors
The NAPF is the voice of workplace pensions in the UK. We speak for over 1,300 pension schemes that provide pensions for over 17 million people and have more than £900 billion of assets. We also have 400 members from businesses supporting the pensions sector.
We aim to help everyone get more out of their retirement savings. To do this we spread best practice among our members, challenge regulation where it adds more cost than benefit and promote policies that add value for savers.
Contacts
Lucy Grubb, Head of Media and PR, NAPF, 020 7601 1726 or 07713 073023, [email protected]
Eleanor Bennett, PR Manager, NAPF, 020 7601 1718 or 07825 171 446, [email protected]