Edged out: Pension policy now firmly in Treasury's grip

Steve Webb assesses the power shift

clock • 3 min read

Has anyone (apart from avid Westminster watchers) spotted the transfer of pension policy power from the DWP to the Treasury? Steve Webb explains why it represents an important shift

In the recent past, lead responsibility for pensions policy has been split between two government departments - HM Treasury and the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). The Treasury led on things like tax relief and personal pension saving, while DWP was focused on the state pension and on occupational pensions. Each department had a corresponding regulator - the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) dealing with things like financial advice and the sale of individual savings products, and The Pensions Regulator (TPR) overseeing trust-based occupational pensions and the implementation ...

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