'Pensions Guru', Steve Bee, joins IFA Magazine's editorial lineup

In light of this week's announcement by the work and pensions secretary, IFA Magazine is delighted to announce the new timely regular column by Steve Bee – the pensions guru.

Iain Duncan Smith has said that the government will make it "crystal clear" to young people that it "pays to save" for retirement when it reforms pensions. The work and pensions secretary indicated a move towards a flat-rate state pension, removing top-up payments for low earners who do not save.

Steve’s regular columns will help provide financial advisers with a clear understanding of the important points raised by the countries apparently ever-changing, yet impossibly complicated and, some would argue, impossibly boring, pensions system.

In addition to this week's announcement, there is also huge pressure amassing on employers. The pension reforms brought about by the 2008 Pensions Act will start to take effect next year. Between 2012 and 2016 over a million employers who do not currently run workplace pension schemes will be required to provide a scheme for their workforce and to contribute towards their pensions. In addition all employers who are currently running pension schemes will need to demonstrate that their schemes meet the minimum levels required by the reforms and all eligible employees are included.

This major shift in policy was introduced by the last Labour Government and given the go-ahead by the new Coalition Government shortly after it took office. The reforms will mean that almost all employers will be providing their employees with a private sector, funded workplace pension scheme and all but the lowest paid will be saving for a pension.

Employers will be required to enroll their eligible employees into a qualifying pension scheme, but employees will retain the right to opt-out if they wish to do so. Where employees do choose to opt-out employers will be required by the legislation to re-enroll them after a certain time. The default position for employees should thus be that they will be accruing a pension. Inertia should mean that the vast majority of employees will remain in schemes once enrolled.

For more information, visit www.ifamagazine.com. All of our contributors' content is also available at www.ifamagazine.com/blogs with details of our team at www.ifamagazine.com/content/about-us.

IFA Magazine is an exclusive publication, delivered directly to the upper echelon of the IFA industry - Key business decision makers in major IFA Businesses, discretionary fund managers and the UK’s leading independent investment companies.

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This release was published on openPR.