Brexit Mania Hits Pensions

The future of the well supported Pensions Dashboard is in doubt. And Brexit is the reason. The Government seem unable to consider anything other than Europe and our relationship within (or without) it. It means good local policy is being side-lined.

There’s a consensus that legislation is needed to introduce a compulsory Dashboard- a go-to place for all our pensions, held in one place and with all providers required to work with it . Everything in one place and set out in a standard way: What’s not to like?

Limited availability in the parliamentary calendar means the compulsion may not happen- or not any time soon.

With the legislation beginning to slip into the long grass, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) feasibility report including the broad proposals, has also been delayed. Due in March, then ‘late spring’, it’s still not here. The DWP are now saying it will appear 'in due course.' Yea, right. And of course, the DWP have no real incentive without a Government willingness to push forward.

One of the best and most far reaching ideas in terms of clear pension’s communication is in danger of not happening, only partially happening, or completely happening but at a date so far in the future we may as well go argue about Brexit.

Belonging

There's some good thinking from LCP on the Brexit issue this week. In the end it may not be to do with economics, but more to do with 'belonging'.

Do we want to be part of Europe or not? To be on the outside may not be the best place for us in the long term, even if in the short term, the financials are not so bad as they are sometimes portrayed.

I prefer belonging to pulling up metaphorical drawbridges, but as the LCP article suggests, there's a lot of emotion and hot air in this debate. The Churchill quote is apposite:  “A fanatic is one who can’t change his mind and won’t change the subject”.