Gregg McClymont – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregg McClymont on 2014-03-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the effect of the planned changes to pensions on opt-out rates of auto enrolment.

Steve Webb

The Budget announced that from April 2015, the tax rules for how people access their defined contribution pension savings will be simplified to allow individuals aged 55 or over to withdraw their savings however they wish, subject to their marginal rate of income tax.

Allowing individuals to exercise greater choice over how they access their retirement savings may mean that some people who would have previously chosen to opt out may no longer do so. This is more likely to have an effect on the choices of older workers.