More incentives needed on pensions, says IoD
Responding to the release today (4.4.06) of the Pensions Commission report, the Institute of Directors (IoD) urged the Government to introduce dramatic simplification of pension savings and far greater incentives for working longer.
IoD Director General Miles Templeman, said: “We need to sweep away the complexity of the current system whilst at the same time increasing the attractiveness of working longer. Greater simplicity will be obtained from sweeping away means testing, contracting out and the state second pension. The incentive to work longer will be greatly increased by the IoD’s innovative proposal to increase the size of the tax-free lump sum.”
The IoD proposes boosting the incentive for longer working lives by increasing the size of the tax-free lump sum that can be withdrawn from a pension fund on retirement. The proposal is that the tax-free lump sum (25% at present) be increased by 5% per annum for each year worked beyond the state pension age up to a maximum of five years (i.e. a maximum tax-free lump sum of 50%).
Laura Wolfe, regional director of the IoD in the North West added:
“The larger lump sum provides people with an incentive to work longer and the flexibility of access to a larger lump sum of money when they do retire. They can go on working, pay taxes and watch their pension fund grow in value and then have access to more money to pursue their retirement dreams.”
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Notes to editors
The Institute of Directors is a non-political independent organisation with 55,000 members. In addition to its wide range of business services, the IoD provides an effective voice to represent the interests of its members to government and key opinion-formers. It also brings the experience of business leaders to bear on the conduct of public affairs. More information at www.iod.com/northwest
The North West Region of the Institute of Directors is one of the fastest growing region of the IoD.
The IoD’s 2006 Annual Convention will take place on Wednesday 26 April at the Royal Albert Hall in London. Guest speakers include Steve Ballmer – CEO of Microsoft Corporation, Todd Stitzer – CEO of Cadbury Schweppes and Douglas McCallum – MD of eBay.co.uk. For more details contact the IoD Press Office, tel. 020 7451 3264; press@iod.com
The IoD (Institute of Directors) was founded in 1903 and obtained a Royal Charter in 1906. The IoD is a non-party political organisation with upwards of 52,000 members in the United Kingdom and overseas. Membership includes directors from right across the business spectrum – from media to manufacturing, e-business to the public and voluntary sectors. Members include CEOs of large corporations as well as entrepreneurial directors of start-up companies.
The IoD offers a wide range of business services which include business centre facilities (including ten UK regional centres [three in London, Reading, Bristol, Birmingham, Manchester, Nottingham, Edinburgh and Belfast] and one each in Paris and Brussels), conferences, networking events, issues-led guides and literature, as well as free access to business information and advisory services and a comprehensive Information Centre. The IoD places great emphasis on director development and has established a certified qualification for directors – Chartered Director – as well as running specific board-level and director-level training and individual career mentoring programmes.
In addition, the IoD provides an effective voice to represent the interests of its members to government and key opinion-formers at the highest levels. These include ministers, constituency MPs, Select Committee members and senior civil servants. IoD policies and views are actively promoted to the national, regional and trade media.
Contact Points: Jane Harrad-Roberts – North West IoD Press Officer Mobile and out of hours: 07785 395705 Email: jane@marketingprojects.co.uk
Laura Wolfe – Regional Director, IoD North West Tel.: 0161 209 3152 Email. laura.wolfe@iod.com
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