From the blog: Since I became shadow pensions minister the three major issues on my desk every week are the pension freedoms, auto-enrolment and the new single-tier state pension.
While these are all separate issues, there is a common thread running through them: public awareness.
If people are to plan for the future and make informed decisions they need the right information at the right time. This was very clear when I met representatives of the Women Against State Pension Inequality group in parliament recently.
A crucial issue for them is the lack of notice given of the acceleration in the changes to the state pension age brought about by the 2011 Pension Act, and its effect on entitlement to the single-tier state pension.
I heard how many women received no information about the changes until they were approaching their expected retirement age, giving them no time to reassess their options and put alternative provisions in place.
Awareness as a weapon
On the new pension freedoms awareness is again key. We know that since their introduction, more money has been lost through scams – in May 2015 alone over £4.7m was lost.
One Twitter user questioned whether Baroness Altmann’s Twitter account had been hacked. Unfortunately all the current evidence suggests that it has not been
The‘Pension freedom guidance and advice’ report published by the Department for Work and Pensions Select Committee pressed for a drive to enhance public vigilance towards scams: “The government and the FCA are taking the right approach in promoting awareness as the best weapon against scamming. But they could do more.” It is vital that they do.
I have, however, been pleased to see that my opposite number, pensions minister Ros Altmann, has also seen the need for greater publicity on auto-enrolment, and the promotion of workplace pensions.
She certainly built up suspense for the launch on October 21: “Something BIG is happening to workplace pensions today,” she tweeted.
I didn’t realise quite how big until I first saw ‘Workie’, her new giant polychromatic monster with an £8.54m price tag.
On the positive side, Workie is multi-skilled. He’s already taken to the road behind the wheel of Back To the Future’s DeLorean, though he is too big to close the door over him and it is not clear if he is headed for the past or the future when the speed dial hits 88mph.
One Twitter user questioned whether Baroness Altmann’s Twitter account had been hacked. Unfortunately all the current evidence suggests that it has not been.
Nick Thomas-Symonds is shadow pensions minister
