The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) has issued a mixed response to new government proposals concerning pension fund buy-out companies.
Announced yesterday (April 14th), the plans would see increased protection for workers whose company pension schemes are involved in a buy-out.
The Labour administration intends to allow the pensions regulator to force uninsured firms that buy out companies and their pension schemes to invest enough money to protect members.
Commenting on the development, John Cridland, deputy director-general of the CBI, said: "We have seen lots of welcome innovation in the pensions industry to help businesses meet their obligations to staff, particularly the creation of pension buy-out firms."
He added, however, that the government must ensure it achieves this without "ratcheting up" the regulatory burden placed on firms, which are "struggling to maintain final salary schemes in challenging times".
