Prospect Pension

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[Prospect Pension @ProspectPension]

@David_J_Robbins The estimated impact of moving to RAS schemes alone must qualify as "extreme" on any risk rating.

[Prospect Pension @ProspectPension]

@David_J_Robbins Should have FOI'd HMRC at the same time! (I presume it's PTM data - or whatever they use now - underpinning the reporter £2bn estimate for capping at £2k.)

[Prospect Pension @ProspectPension]

@PensionsDave @David_J_Robbins Playbook suggests it's WASPI related.

[Prospect Pension @ProspectPension]

@David_J_Robbins Harder with existing staff (as would require a contractual change) but difficult for HMRC to make it impossible for a determined employer (with a well-advised employee who was confident all potential issues had been squared off)?

[Prospect Pension @ProspectPension]

@Pension_Jon @David_J_Robbins That some schemes didn't have pre-97 protection is no argument for taking it away entirely from those that did. The government could just grant protection to those schemes that originally had it. But it would seem very petty to enforce that distinction in today's circumstances.

[Prospect Pension @ProspectPension]

@Pension_Jon @David_J_Robbins You can argue that the overall level of PPF protection is about right, too high or too low (reasonable people can have different views about that). But the lack of indexation of pre-97 rights is grossly unfair and a very poor feature of the design of the scheme.

[Prospect Pension @ProspectPension]

@Pension_Jon @David_J_Robbins Not the tens of thousands of PPF and FAS members who have had no increases ever on what is often the main part of their retirement income.

[Prospect Pension @ProspectPension]

@David_J_Robbins Something about the effect of the unwinding of the discount rate in the accounts...

[Prospect Pension @ProspectPension]

@David_J_Robbins The lack of impact on year 4 to 5 is what confused me (up to then I had thought the fiscal effect would be positive). TUC pension officers had a helpful meeting with PPF officials, and they gamely tried to explain their understanding of it to me (but I didn't follow it fully).

[Prospect Pension @ProspectPension]

@David_J_Robbins @HawthorneSJJ "In a recent poll of 1,000 members of defined benefit schemes, conducted by the Pension Insurance Corporation, 60pc said the Government’s plans would put their pensions at risk."

And 100pc of Pension Insurance Corporations said it would put their bottom line at risk...

[Prospect Pension @ProspectPension]

@David_J_Robbins IFS v GAD seeing as it was the methodology that GAD advised ONS to use that the IFS attacked (in a very over-the-top way)?

[Prospect Pension @ProspectPension]

@David_J_Robbins @ONS Hutton himself said the SPA link should be reviewed in the future in order to ensure it remains appropriate (it isn't any longer, and a review would highlight that, but it would obviously be politically difficult to acknowledge it).

[Prospect Pension @ProspectPension]

@jeff_106 @paullewismoney Being a member of a very good occupational pension scheme was not a big scam.

[Prospect Pension @ProspectPension]

@SjScholefield @David_J_Robbins Otoh - the fact that so many people are facing such cost of living pressures that they are giving up something as valuable as membership of the NHS pension scheme just to get their member contributions back is actually one of the surest signs that something should be done.

[Prospect Pension @ProspectPension]

@SjScholefield @David_J_Robbins On top of the issue with fiscal rules - the fact that HMT is effectively getting this for "free" from lots of workers in the NHS, may make it even less inclined towards the policy (ie there would be a sunk cost to the extent that lots of people currently opted out take it up).

[Prospect Pension @ProspectPension]

@SjScholefield @David_J_Robbins That said, opt outs in the NHS scheme are scandalously high and presumably everyone currently giving up a valuable DB pension just to get the member contribution back would absolutely jump at this type of arrangement.

[Prospect Pension @ProspectPension]

@SjScholefield @David_J_Robbins The issue is probably that *any* take-up is problematic in the current fiscal environment. The choice already exists in places (eg civil servants can increase net pay by joining the non-contributory DC scheme called Partnership) and take-up there is very low.