Research conducted by Populus on behalf of the National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF) suggests that consumers would prefer a not-for-profit body to administer the pensions system, rather than government or the private sector insurance industry.
In the survey, respondents were asked to say whether they would prefer a government body, insurance companies or not-for-profit organizations to run any new pension scheme. In the group of working people under age 65, some 61% preferred not-for-profit companies with legal duty to put savers’ interests first.
Only 20% chose a government body and believed one large scheme would be the most simple and efficient. Just 17% opted for insurance companies and agreed they were already doing a good job with people’s pensions.
Further recent poll findings released by the NAPF cast doubt on two key features of the NPSS proposed by the Pensions Commission. The poll showed that people did not believe a new government computer system would manage their savings efficiently and were not confident about deciding how their pension savings should be invested.
NAPF’s findings come as the UK pensions minister Stephen Timms calls a behind-closed-doors meeting with industry representatives to discuss the alternative plans for pension provision to those laid out by Lord Turner.