Pension freedoms 'require safeguards'
By Wesleyan
Posted 11 March 2015
Measures need to be introduced to protect people from the risks that will come with greater pension freedoms, MPs are warning.
Members of the Commons Work and Pensions Committee say action is needed to protect people's money.
Among the measures they want to see introduced is the establishment of a new pensions watchdog that will help protect savers.
From April, people will not have to purchase an annuity to give themselves a regular income when they come to cash in their pension savings.
The group of MPs acknowledge that the reforms - announced in Chancellor George Osborne's last Budget - could encourage people to put more money aside for their retirement.
But they say they also throw up "significant" risks for retirement savers, making effective safeguards more important than ever.
The committee says the dangers include mis-sold and fraudulent financial products, and the potential for people to fail to provide themselves with enough income to see themselves through retirement.
Copyright Press Association 2015
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