Not sure what is going on with the pension reforms that start tomorrow? Well, don’t rely on getting answers from your pension provider. Despite the fact that the biggest shake-up of UK pensions in over 100 years was announced a year ago, research suggests that fewer than 40% of 50 to 75-year-olds have been contacted about the options available to them, post 6 April 2015.
The research, from accountancy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), found that this figure goes down to 26% for people on low incomes with small pension pots. Jonathan Howe of PwC says: “This raises questions about the quality of customer interaction by pension providers.” Just under half of the respondents plan to ask for additional guidance.
A survey carried out by The Guardian last week found that only half of all country’s major pension providers will be open to take calls tomorrow.
While companies such as Fidelity, Scottish Widows, Standard Life and Aviva will open for business, Royal London, Zurich, Axa and the Pru will not take calls until Tuesday.
From 6 April, anyone over the age of 55 will be able to take what they want, when they want, from their pension funds. Research from pension provider LV= suggests that 20% plan to withdraw some or all of their pension as a lump sum. Over half (55%) are still undecided about what to do, and 25% are waiting for new products to emerge.
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