Pension Bill amendments unlikely to signal end of widows' pensions

Amendments in the Pensions Bill allowing employers to alter workers' accrued benefits are unlikely t...

Amendments in the Pensions Bill allowing employers to alter workers' accrued benefits are unlikely to cause widespread elimination of widow's pensions, despite industry concerns. John Lawson, senior technical manager at Standard Life, said the proposed changes are primarily an attempt to bring all accrued pension entitlements under a single benefit regime, particularly the contracted out money that built up so-called guaranteed minimum pension (GMP) benefits pre-1995. At present, contracted-out money has to be kept in a separate pot within schemes and is subject to different rules, with b...