Survey: Defined contribution pensions: What does the future hold?

The Pensions Management Institute’s survey of its members on pension provision in the UK revealed that, although there are concerns about the standard of defined contribution (DC) pension provisions, there is little appetite for major reform.

Key findings:

• While 55 per cent of respondents believe that 2015’s Freedom and Choice reforms were in society’s best interests, nearly three quarters were concerned at the growing trend for benefits to be in the form of cash sums rather than lifetime income streams.
• Just over half were against the return of the Minimum Income Requirement (MIR) for members withdrawing funds via Flexi Access Drawdown (FAD) or Uncrystallised Funds Pension Lump Sum (UFPLS).
• There was a 50/50 split on whether advice on decumulation should be mandatory when a DC member’s fund value exceeds a set threshold.