Webb promises to look again at pension risk-sharing

Pensions minister Steve Webb has said the government will revisit the issue of risk-sharing as part of its drive to reinvigorate occupational pensions.

Webb said the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) would encourage the development of models which would relieve individual pension scheme members of some investment risk.

"Some people say that pendulums do not stop in the middle but once we have gone from the defined benefit (DB) extreme, where the employer shoulders all the risk, to the defined contribution (DC) extreme where it is all borne by the member, hopefully we can push it back a little bit," Webb told the Lane, Clark and Peacock (LCP) Pensions Conference yesterday.

The minister said this would form part of the government's pledge to reinvigorate workplace pensions alongside measures to reduce costs, address legacy problems, and overhaul member transfers.

Webb also reiterated the government's commitment to eradicate short service refunds from the pensions landscape, warning employers not to factor them into their decision making process when setting up schemes.