13 December 2004 - Government welcomes Employer Task Force report
The report from the Employer Task Force on Pensions was published by the government today. The Task Force was set up to help increase and extend occupational and private pension provision and was chaired by Sir Peter Davis.
Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Alan Johnson welcomed the Task Force’s work on good practice saying the government would establish a web based source for employers on all good practice.
“I would like to thank Sir Peter Davis and the members of the Task Force for all their hard work and commitment. The result is a report that makes a very important contribution to the debate on the future of UK pensions. The Pensions Commission has set out the challenge we face and the Task Force has looked at how we can start to tackle one aspect of that challenge – re-invigorating saving through the workplace.
“I am very pleased that as well as providing a comprehensive analysis of the issues affecting employer pension provision the Task Force has identified some practical and pragmatic ways to move things forward. The work the Task Force has done on Good Practice will provide a very useful tool for other employers to learn from.
“We intend to develop this further by accepting the recommendation that government provide a single web-based source of all Good Practice information for employers. We also intend to look at ways of getting targetted information to small business where employer pension provision is a particular issue.”
Mr Johnson also added:
“The Task Force has endorsed the government’s view that employers have a critical role to play in helping employees save for their retirement. The report contains an important message for employers – that they can and should do more. I would urge employers to look carefully at the recommendations in this report and to do everything they can to enable their employees save for retirement.
"As people are living longer it will be companies that make pensions a key part of the pay package that succeed as they will be able to recruit and retain the best staff.
“The Task Force has also rightly identified the importance of individuals taking reponsibility for their income in retirement and it has welcomed government measures to increase awareness through the work of the Informed Choice Programme and FSA Financial Capability Strategy.
“Some of the recommendations are for government and we will carefully consider these alongside the work of the Pensions Commission. But, where we can make rapid progress to help employers we will – indeed the Financial Secretary to the Treasury has already announced forthcoming changes to the financial promotion regime [under the Financial Services and Markets Act] that have been welcomed by the Task Force.”
Notes for editors
- The Employer Task Force on Pensions was set up by the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on 5 June 2003. Details can be found at: http://www.dwp.gov.uk/mediacentre/pressreleases/2003/june/pens0506-task.asp
- The Employer Task Force was part of the Green Paper on pensions, ‘Simplicity, security and choice: Working and Saving for retirement’ that was published in December 2002.
- Details of the Task Force’s remit and its membership can be found at their website: http://www.employerstaskforce.org.uk
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