savings and investment
SMEs and self-employed
should make greater
provision for retirement
Interview with Pensions Minister
Angela Eagle reveals that you could
lose out unless you explore pensions
opportunities now
Financial provision for retirement is important enough to warrant
History lessons do not sit easily in a publica-
regular and in-depth treatment in the pages of The Informed
tion for executives, but reference to the 1942
Executive
Beveridge Report on welfare reform is an es-
. It is difficult to escape reference to pensions in the
sential starting point for any discussion of
media, but the fact that the subject relates to a period in life far
present day pension provision. It sets the whole
away from the economic pressures of today means that it gets
pensions question in context.
kicked too easily into the long grass, where it tends to stay.
When William Beveridge was compiling his
ground-breaking recommendations, the life
As managers and owners of the UK’s smaller expectancy for a man after retirement was lit-
and medium scale businesses – a broad spec- tle more than a year. The average length of
trum ranging from the self-employed to those retirement that can be expected today is nearer
involved in directing substantial enterprises – twenty times that war-time figure.
you have a responsibility to yourself, your That was the stark contrast which Angela
dependents and your staff to ensure that every Eagle MP drew when she met The Informed Ex-
reasonable provision has been made to ecutive recently. As the Minister of State respon-
achieve long term financial security. sible for pensions at the Department for Work
No two situations are ever the same when it and Pensions, she was keen to illustrate the
comes to setting financial objectives and the extent to which the requirement for pensions
strategy needed to achieve them, so there is has changed over the intervening six decades.
no panacæa prescribed in the following pages. “I do not believe that the pensions industry
What you will find are pointers designed to has fully kept pace with developments in the
set you on the right track, whether it is under- marketplace, however.
standing the changes being implemented by “The fact is that only a third of the UK adult
Above: Angela Eagle MP, legislation to provide additional cover for population has made provision for an addi-
Pensions Minister: making the employees, or assessing the growing range of tional private sector pension on top of the state
case for increasing the levels of opportunities which exist for you as directors provision. It is essential that the proportion
savings across the board from and shareholders in those businesses. We will should increase, and a framework of legisla-
staff on low-to-medium salaries be looking at some of those opportunities dis- tion has been put in place to help achieve that
through to business owners. passionately on a regular basis. objective.”
As managers and owners of the UK’s smaller and medium scale businesses, you have a responsibility to
yourself, your dependents and your staff to make adequate provision for long term financial security.
40
The Informed Executive
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