General Election – The Parties’ Pension Manifestos
We have looked at the main parties manifesto to see what changes they might make to pensions.
Conservatives
The current powers of regulators and the Pension Protection Fund will be increased.
They will build on existing powers to give pension schemes and the Pensions Regulator the right to scrutinise, clear with conditions or in extreme cases stop mergers, takeovers or large financial commitments that threaten the solvency of the scheme.
They will also give the Pensions Regulator new powers to issue punitive fines for those found to have wilfully left a pension scheme under-resourced.
Guaranteed annual increases in the state pension by maintaining the Triple Lock until 2020, and when it expires we will introduce a new Double Lock, meaning that pensions will rise in line with the earnings that pay for them, or in line with inflation – whichever is highest.
They will also ensure that the state pension age reflects increases in life expectancy, while protecting each generation fairly.
Extend auto-enrolment to small employers and make it available to the self-employed.
Source: https://www.conservatives.com/manifesto
Labour
Labour will guarantee the state pension ‘triple lock’ throughout the next Parliament. It will rise by at least 2.5 per cent a year or be increased to keep pace with inflation or earnings, whichever is higher.
They will protect the pensions of UK citizens living overseas in the EU or further afield.
Over 2.5 million women born in the 1950s have had their state pension age changed without fair notification. These women deserve some kind of compensation for their losses. Labour is exploring options for further transitional protections.
Labour will legislate so that accrued rights to the basic state pension cannot be changed, but future benefits can. Labour rejects the Conservatives’ proposal to increase the state pension age even further. Labour will commission a new review of the pension age.
Labour will end rip-of hidden fees and charges, and enable the development of large efficient pensions funds.
A Labour government will commit to an immediate review of the mineworkers’ pension scheme and British Coal superannuation scheme surplus, sharing arrangements between government and scheme beneficiaries. Source: http://www.labour.org.uk/index.php/manifesto2017 Liberal Democrats Maintain the ‘triple lock’ of increasing the state pension each year by the highest of earnings growth, prices growth or 2.5% for the next parliament. Establish a review to consider the case for, and practical implications of, introducing a single rate of tax relief for pensions, which would be designed to be simpler and fairer and would be set more generously than the current 20% basic rate relief.
Source: http://www.labour.org.uk/index.php/manifesto2017
Liberal Democrats
Maintain the ‘triple lock’ of increasing the state pension each year by the highest of earnings growth, prices growth or 2.5% for the next parliament.
Establish a review to consider the case for, and practical implications of, introducing a single rate of tax relief for pensions, which would be designed to be simpler and fairer and would be set more generously than the current 20% basic rate relief.
Source: http://www.libdems.org.uk/manifesto
