Pensions Act 2008
The new Pensions Act 2008 has now received Royal Assent and will mean significant changes to the provision of pensions from 2012.
From this date many employees who previously had no pension will have the opportunity to save for retirement. The pension will be available either through a companies workplace pension scheme or the new ‘Personal Accounts Scheme’.
The new Act will also enable the purchase of National Insurance and it has been estimated that these changes will benefit up to 9 million people. From 2012, all eligible workers will be automatically enrolled in a pension scheme and employees minimum contributions will be matched by employers’ contributions and new tax relief measures.
Employees will have the option to opt-out of the pension scheme and also will also be able to choose between having a company pension or their own ‘Personal Accounts Scheme’ which can be used across different employments.