What pensions could look like under a Labour government

Partner Helen Ball looks at the implications of Labour’s recently published Plan for Financial Services paper, which stated that it would review the current state of the pensions and retirement savings landscape to assess whether the current framework would deliver sustainable retirement incomes.

“Last July, in its Mansion House speech, the current Government set out its blueprint to increase the number of pounds in the national piggy bank. As the Labour Party’s recently-published Plan for Financial Services shares a lot of common ground with that grand plan, it appears that the folks who are currently beavering away on the current policy initiatives could still be busy on those projects beyond the timeline of any future change of ruling party.

With a quest to ensure greater consolidation across pension and retirement saving schemes and a focus on value for members, there is a familiar ring to much of the content of the Labour Party proposals. However, there are some new bits too, which may catch the eye. These include championing financial inclusion to ensure everyone has access to affordable products and services. There are also important references to the implications of AI along with forward-looking cross-regulatory coordination and an interesting “ask” for the Pensions Regulator to give “explicit guidance” on fund and strategy suitability – not something that we have seen in the past.

We will need to await further details in the Labour Party manifesto, but for now it appears that there won’t be a complete U-turn on current pensions policy, should there be a change at the top in 2024.”