Britons call on next Government to ‘plug’ black hole in private pensions according to Brewin Dolphin

29 April 2010

• 66 per cent want Government to incentivise investment in private pensions
• 62 per cent agree the Government should use the tax system to encourage pension savings
• 71 per cent believe the tax burden on investments within pensions should be reduced

Two thirds of all Britons (66 per cent) believe that one of the next Government’s top priorities should be to encourage people to invest in private pensions, according to a ComRes poll* for Brewin Dolphin.  The poll also revealed that 62 per cent of Britons agree that the tax system should be used to achieve this, and an overwhelming 71 per cent believe the tax burden on the investments within pension funds should be reduced. 
As one of the largest private client investment managers and pension advisers in the UK, Brewin Dolphin welcomes these findings, as it has for sometime been raising concerns with Government and the opposition about the diminishing value of private sector pension provisions.  This independent poll clearly demonstrates that the British public has recognised that the UK pensions situation is in crisis and therefore policies must be set out by the next Government as to how it intends to plug Britain’s pensions black hole. Brewin Dolphin has been campaigning for years for some replacement for the dividend tax credits taken from pension funds in 1997, and the finding that this chimes with the view of 71 per cent of those polled in the ComRes survey adds considerable weight to their campaign at www.pensionstimebomb.com – where all the parties manifesto pledges on pensions are examined.

Charlotte Black, Head of Corporate Affairs at Brewin Dolphin said, “Having had time to digest the various political party Manifestos, these figures highlight exactly the specific measures the British public wants to see a new government introduce to restore its faith in private pension investment.  We also want the Government to stick to its promises regarding private pensions policy throughout the next Parliament, to give savers some certainty.   These sentiments echo those of Brewin Dolphin’s long standing campaign for  pensions reform, particularly in respect of the restoration of the dividend tax credit.  Now is the time for politicians to set out clearly their exact intentions as to how they will address the UK’s private sector pensions crisis.   With an ageing population this issue can no longer be ignored and the new Government must demonstrate that it is aware of the growing alarm amongst private investors, and to do something constructive to restore their faith in saving for the long term.”

As part of its ongoing campaign for pension reform, Brewin Dolphin recently launched the UK’s first pension calculator at www.pensionstimebomb.com , enabling individuals to calculate the impact on their own pensions savings of the removal of the tax credit on dividend income introduced in the 1997 Budget.  So far over 4,000 individuals have used the pensions tax calculator to work out how big the shortfall in their own pension arrangement is. 

*  ComRes interviewed 1024 UK adults by telephone between 16th and 18th April 2010.

                                                  -Ends-

For further information please call Charlotte Black on 0845 213 3331

NOTES TO EDITORS
ComRes  – ComRes interviewed 1,024 GB adults by telephone between 16th and 18th April 2010. Data were weighted to be representative demographically of all GB adults. ComRes is a member of the British Polling Council and abides by its rules (www.britishpollingcouncil.org). Full data tables can be found at www.comres.co.uk .

Brewin Dolphin The Brewin Dolphin Group manages over £21 billion of funds for over 130,000 private clients and of this over £12 billion is on a discretionary basis. BD has 40 offices throughout the UK and Channel Islands and Brewin Dolphin Investment Banking is corporate adviser to over 100 small and medium size quoted companies and institutions.
Brewin Dolphin Limited (“BD”) is the principal operating company of Brewin Dolphin Holdings PLC which is a FTSE 250 company. BD is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority and is a member of the London Stock Exchange.
 
The Group provides a complete investment management and financial planning service for private investors, charities and pension funds and has an Investment Banking division. Stocktrade is the Group’s Execution-Only telephone and on-line dealing division.
 
Brewin Dolphin won the award for the Best Discretionary Broker in the Shares Awards 2009 and also received the top awards for its Market Newsletter and Exceptional Performance in the Back Office at The Daily Telegraph wealth management awards 2009.
Please see the Media Centre section on our website: http://www.brewin.co.uk/group/ for details and photos of all commentators and analysts throughout the BD Group.