Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 17
17
Accepted
Government provided insufficient and misleading information with restrictive one-month deadline for AEAT pension decisions.
Conclusion
The AEAT case is one where government directly provided information intended to help pension scheme members decide what to do with their accrued pension benefits. Members were only given one month to make the decision, and consider that the information provided was insufficient and misleading.36 GAD acknowledged that in the present day, only giving people one month to make a financial decision of this kind would be judged to be inappropriate.37
Government Response Summary
The government agrees with the recommendation and will inform the Committee of actions taken to support informed pension decisions. They cite recent steps like the Stronger Nudge to Pensions Guidance, national mid-life MOT delivery, and new regulations for Pensions Dashboards.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
4.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: September 2023. 4.2 The government recognises that decisions about pensions can be complex and significant. The government will write to the Committee setting out the action it is taking to support people to make informed decisions about their pensions by encouraging the use of appropriate advice and guidance and reducing the complexity of decisions savers are required to take. 4.3 The government has recently taken significant steps to support people to make informed decisions about their pensions. The Stronger Nudge to Pensions Guidance ensures no-one accesses Defined Contribution pension savings without receiving Pension Wise guidance, or actively opting out of receiving it. The government is delivering the mid-life MOT in Jobcentre plus offices nationally; employers in the North East, East Anglia, and Devon and Cornwall through private sector providers; and launched an improved digital service in July 2023. The mid-life MOT provides and signposts to guidance around careers, health and finances, including pensions. 4.4 On 19 July 2023, the government made regulations with a new approach to delivery of Pensions Dashboards that allows the government to work more collaboratively with the pensions industry. The government remains as committed as ever to making pensions dashboards a reality and is ambitious about their delivery.