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The government needs to provide extra help to UK employers as they attempt to provide good workplace pension schemes, the National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF) has said.

According to the NAPF, while the removal of tax credit in 1997 did contribute to the current problems within the pensions sector, subsequent actions have also increased the pressure on workplace pension schemes.

Nigel Peaple, the director of policy at the NAPF, argued that: "Some of these pressures were beyond anyone's control, such as increasing longevity and the fall in equity markets.

"But others were man-made, such as the introduction of new accounting rules (FRS17) and the decision by successive governments to increase pension regulation."

Mr Peaple argued that employers who enrol their workers into pension schemes with higher contribution rates should be given more-favourable tax treatment by the government and should be offered a simple and flexible way of gaining exemption from personal accounts.

These latest comments come soon after the NAPF warned that the National Pensions Saving Scheme could be putting many workers at risk of losing their higher pensions contributions as it is targeting too wide a section of UK employees.

According to the organIsation's figures, the existing scheme is appropriate for only around 7.5 million employees across the country, and Mr Peaple urged the Chancellor, Gordon Brown, to focus on the future of UK pensions.

See full article here

http://www.savingforretirement.co.uk/Pension-pressure-not-just-caused-by-tax-credit-removal--175_62_18108319.html

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