New report focuses on the impact of tax policy on employer sponsored pension provision

Public commentary and analysis of the substantial changes in pensions provision in the UK have tended to focus on the substantial increases in costs of provision over the past three decades and how these costs are recognised and met. The new PPI report, jointly sponsored by the Actuarial Profession and Age UK, examines in detail 30 years of changes to the taxation of employer provided pensions schemes and looks to assess the impact of these changes.

Jane Curtis, President-Elect of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries commented: "Although there has inevitably been debate around specific taxation changes in the pensions arena as they have come along over the past 30 years, it is perhaps fair to say that there has been too little focus on the long term cumulative impact of the range of these changes on pension provision over this period. We sponsored this report to help address this knowledge gap.

She added: "Pensions is a complex area and there are many inter-dependent factors, so it is difficult to isolate one element and gauge its impact on people’s behaviour. However, this report does suggest that tax changes may have accelerated changes in employer provision, which, as the evidence shows, has reduced in its coverage over recent decades or, at least failed, to stem the tide in employer provision. With this in mind, we hope that the report will provide a useful prompt to encourage all policymakers to take a longer term view on tax policy as part of setting the future direction of the UK’s pensions policy"

ENDS

Enquiries: Tel. Michael Scanlan on 07798 804 871 or email michael.scanlan@actuaries.org.uk

Notes for editors

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