‘A goal worth striving for’: Opperman says pensions can be put at the forefront of positive change
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Pensions minister Guy Opperman has announced the launch of self-certification for defined benefit master trusts, a plan to legislate for simpler annual pension statements as well as a "statement season".
New developments
Opperman, speaking at the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association’s annual conference on Tuesday, said that shortly, the UK government will be laying the regulations for simpler annual benefits statements and legislate for a statement season. This aims to “maximise the impact of simpler statements” and stimulate “greater debate” amongst the public, he said. A cross-sector working group has also been formed to identify workable options for the introduction of a statement season.
Opperman also announced that following consultation with an industry working group, the UK government will soon be launching a system of DB master trust self-certification, in conjunction with the PLSA. This will aim to help raise awareness of the services and benefits of DB master trusts, so pension funds, with help from the government, can assess if they are the right solution for them.
‘Leading in stewardship’
Stewardship, automatic enrolment and climate change were also covered in the speech. Opperman said he is “hugely proud of what we’ve achieved so far to make pensions safer, better and greener” as he listed previous achievements such as raising auto-enrolment contribution rates to 8%, progressing the pensions dashboards project and passing the “groundbreaking” 2021 pension schemes bill.
Opperman commended his department’s regulations in response to the climate crisis. “The DWP have introduced groundbreaking regulations to ensure the UK becomes the first country in which trustees must consider, assess, and report on the financial risks of climate change within their portfolios,” he said.
The importance of stewardship was also emphasised, which has been a focus in the run up to COP26, hosted in Glasgow next month. Opperman said: “I cannot overstate how important I believe that stewardship will be in this industry’s response to the climate crisis.”
He ended his speech listing the “exciting” direction of travel that he has set: “From consolidation to climate change, from stewardship to simpler statements, progressing AE to harnessing the power of pension funds to help the UK build back better and greener, I strongly believe we have an opportunity to make a real difference.”
