Select committee: Work and Pensions Committee
Recommendation 24
Fifth report: Protecting pension savers—five years on from the pension freedoms: Pension scams
Published 28 Mar 2021
Paragraph 93
Addressed to Department for Work and Pensions
Work and Pensions Committee Protecting pension savers – five years on from the pension freedoms: Pension scams All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Recommendation (the committee's words)
The pension advice allowance allows members of defined contribution and hybrid pension schemes to withdraw £500 from their pension up to three times in different tax years for advice. There appears to have been little take up of the Pension Advice Allowance which has been set at too low a level. We welcome news that HM Treasury is reviewing this policy after the Minister for Pensions and Financial Inclusion told us that it will consider the policy’s effectiveness as part of its wider work on the financial advice market. We recommend that the overall cap of £1,500 should be reviewed and the annual cap of £500 on the amount which can be withdrawn in any one year under the pensions advice allowance should be removed.
From: Work and Pensions Committee, Fifth report: Protecting pension savers—five years on from the pension freedoms: Pension scams (HC 648), paragraph 93, 28 March 2021
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 6 July 2021 (deadline 28 May 2021).
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The Government "notes" the Committee's report, says it takes the recommendations "very seriously", and states it has "agreed with many of the recommendations from the outset" while it will "continue to look closely at the remaining recommendations".
- On the red and amber flag system for pension transfers, the Government agrees that the policy should be reviewed and that the flags' suitability forms part of that review, but "cannot" guarantee any legislative changes could be made "during this Parliament".
- It does not agree that inclusion on the FCA warning list should itself be a red flag, saying the Pension Schemes Act 2021 does not give powers "to use a third parties list or determination".
- It declines additional reporting by the City of London Police to Parliament on Action Fraud, saying it is "unnecessary" and oversight "should remain with the Government".
- The Government is "committed to publishing a comprehensive Fraud Action Plan after this year's Spending Review", but "cannot commit" to publishing details of its coordination with the Treasury.