Source · Select Committees · Work and Pensions Committee
Recommendation 32
32
Paragraph: 128
We support the Government’s intention to make pensions simpler.
Recommendation
We support the Government’s intention to make pensions simpler. Recent policy changes to the normal minimum pension age have highlighted the difficulties of achieving this and we are disappointed that these changes have made making decisions about accessing pensions even more difficult. Savers take a working lifetime to build up pension savings, through many changes of policy and government. We urge the Government to do everything in its power to ensure that future changes do not bake additional complexity into the system for decades to come. Where additional complexity is inescapable, we recommend that any Government consults early, thoroughly and aims to achieve cross-party consensus.
Paragraph Reference:
128
Government Response
Not Addressed
HM Government
Not Addressed
The government acknowledges the benefits of timely and thorough consultation, and in achieving cross-party consensus where possible about the matters being legislated upon. As announced in 2014, the NMPA will rise to 57 in April 2028 but those who have unqualified rights to access their pension below that age will have those rights protected. This proposal was set out in a 10-week consultation in early 2021 followed by a consultation on draft legislation in summer 2021. It represents a careful balance between the importance of making decisions around pensions as simple and comprehensible as possible and the importance of protecting individuals’ existing rights.