PYRRHIC VICTORY? THE UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCE OF THE PENSIONS ACT 2004

Abstract

The UK's 2004 Pensions Act is a far‐reaching piece of legislation, with significant implications for the occupational pensions marketplace. The Act is intended to improve the governance of pension schemes and increase the security of the members’ accrued benefits. However, our research suggests that it will have serious and adverse unintended consequences. The most significant of these will be to undermine occupational pension provision by placing an increased burden on sponsoring employers, whose involvement in pension provision is on a voluntary basis.