27th November 2008
Government plans for Personal Accounts in the 2012 pension reforms have attracted criticism from pension industry experts who have branded them a disaster in the making.

Addressing a gathering of pension industry experts yesterday, independent pensions advisor Dr Ross Altmann said the proposals would only result in pension provisions deteriorating if they go ahead un-amended.

"They offer tremendous opportunities. Opportunities for politicians to claim that they have more people putting money into a pension, for the financial services industry to earn fees on managing the pools of assets over time," he said.

Others include "the treasury who will save money later on means tested benefits" and big employers who despite currently contributing more than the three per cent minimum, "will see an opportunity to cut back", he said.

He went on to say the proposals threatened a lot of people, who could end up losing money along the way as a result of the scheme, which would also be an "administration nightmare".

Personal Account pensions, which will be introduced in 2012, will automatically enroll anyone on a company pension.



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