08 October 2007 – Tim Jones to lead Personal Accounts Delivery Authority
The Government has today announced the appointment of Tim Jones as Chief Executive of the Personal Accounts Delivery Authority.
Mr Jones, a former Chief Executive of Retail Banking at NatWest, will take up the post today (October 8). He is currently co-director of the Centre for the Study of Financial Innovation.
Pensions Minister Mike O’Brien said:
“I am delighted that Tim Jones has been appointed to this post. He brings very considerable experience in both retail banking and many other areas of the financial sector.
“Personal accounts will be a first. It will be a high quality, low-charge pension scheme - targeted at low to moderate earners - and will give millions of people access to an employer contribution for the first time.
“But setting up a trust-based occupational pension scheme, with billions of pounds of funds under management, is not a job for Government. That is why we are recruiting leaders with a proven track record in the private sector to make sure we get the design of personal accounts right.”
Tim Jones said:
“The goal is clear – to achieve a system of personal accounts which is simple for both employers and employees. We now need to grasp the opportunity to get millions of people saving for the future and to provide a major boost to their incomes in retirement.
“Personal Accounts will go live in 2012 and there is much to be done – building on the excellent work that has characterised the initiative to date – to ensure that the service that emerges is the right one. Having led major new product development and change programmes in the past, I relish the prospect of working with a wide range of stakeholders to bring personal accounts to fruition.”
The Delivery Authority will offer independent advice to Government and, with Parliamentary approval, will be responsible for getting personal accounts up and running; and for ensuring that employers meet their new obligations.
Personal accounts will extend the benefits of an occupational pension – including an employer contribution and tax relief - to millions of employees who currently do not have access to a good workplace pension.
Notes for Editors
- The Pensions Act 2007 provided for the Personal Accounts Delivery Authority
to be established. In its initial stage the Authority’s remit is
to:
- provide advice and make recommendations to support the Government in understanding the operational and commercial implications of the options for delivering personal accounts; and
- advise on the design of the commercial strategy, including the financial, technical, commercial and communications analysis needed for scheme development.
- The Government plans to legislate further in a second Bill, extending the Delivery Authority’s remit and giving it executive powers to then assume responsibility for delivering the personal accounts scheme and the system to ensure that employers meet their new obligations within a framework set by Government.
- Employees will contribute a minimum of 4 per cent of their earnings (between approximately £5,000 and £33,500) a year, matched by a minimum 3 per cent employer contribution and around 1 per cent in the form of normal tax relief from the Government.
- Tim Jones’s appointment will commence on 8 October and will be for an initial period of three years. The appointment has been made in full conformity with the Code of Practice of the Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments.
- The appointment of the Chair of the Delivery Authority, Paul Myners, was announced on 1 August.
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