The pensions minister said that pension freedoms introduced by the coalition government were “brilliant”, but more new retirement income products and services were needed (Financial Advice Clifton Bristol).
Her comments came last July after the Financial Conduct Authority found that 18 per cent of all pension providers, and 50 per cent of the largest firms, were planning to develop further retirement income options.
According to the FCA, the range of products in development at that time included flexi-access drawdown, partial designation/ phased drawdown, uncrystallised funds pension lump sum, third-way products, fixed term, with-profits and long-term care annuities.
Speaking at FTAdviser’s Retirement Freedoms Forum, Baroness Altmann (pictured) said “The industry need to wake up. This is a real opportunity for new products and services. I am calling on the pensions industry to introduce more new approaches and to make their products more engaging”.
Her speech came after Yvonne Braun, director of long-term savings at the Association of British Insurers, told advisers who were gathered at FTAdviser’s Retirement Freedom Forum that plans for a new pensions ISA were a bad idea. Last year, the government launched a consultation paper to see if a pension ISA would encourage more people to save for retirement.
Following Ms Braun’s speech, more than 130 advisers stated that they did not want to see a Pension ISA introduced in this month’s Budget. Baroness Altmann also used her speech to renew the government’s pledge to ban “unfair” early exit charges from pensions.
At the start of 2016, HM Treasury confirmed that it would introduce curbs on excessive pension exit penalties.
Chancellor George Osborne outlined proposals to place a duty on the Financial Conduct Authority to cap excessive early exit charges for those eligible to access pension freedoms.
(FTAdviser.com/ Emma Ann Hughes)
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