Which? response to Steve Webb MP’s plans to increase transparency on pension charges

Which? executive director, Richard Lloyd, said:

“It’s good the Government is cracking down on hidden pensions charges because more transparency is urgently needed to help consumers get better value from their pension.

“However this alone will not be enough to end rip-off schemes as consumers are often automatically enrolled by their employer and are unable to shop around. We also need to see a cap on charges of 0.5%, to cover all new and existing workplace pension schemes, which could save consumers around £4.8 billion just over the next 10 years.”

Background:

In November 2013, Which? launched the ‘Hands off my pension’ campaign calling for the Government to:

–      Set the proposed charge cap at 0.5%.

–      Roll out the cap to cover all new and existing workplace pensions.

–      Ban hikes on annual management charges when switching job.

Over 15,000 people signed up to our campaign and we received 7,000 comments which we presented to the Pensions Minister.

Statement