JP Morgan Asset Management comments on the Pensions White Paper

JP Morgan Asset Management (JPMAM) welcomes the publication of today’s second Pensions White Paper.

Campbell Fleming, Managing Director and Head of UK for JPMAM commented: "We welcome the government’s plan to introduce a National Pension Savings Scheme that provides diversity to investors through a range of branded funds on the platform. We strongly believe that active fund management will be a key factor in the successful delivery of Personal Accounts. The current proposal should allow the financial services industry to use its experience and play a positive role in investing the money in Personal Accounts. Also, we welcome the government’s aim to guard against Personal Accounts being substituted for existing schemes, as opposed to complementing them."

He added: “It is vital that more people save for retirement. Our own research on the pension landscape published last month, the JPMorgan UK Pension Map, highlights that only 23% of all people currently working are likely to receive enough income when the time comes to retire. Moreover, the study shows a growing "pension polarity" between wealthy and poor retirees. About two thirds of the working population are likely to receive an annual pension income equivalent to less than £2,500 above the cost of living in today's terms.”

Fleming concluded: “If we look to examples in other markets such as the US and Australia, we can see that other jurisdictions have successfully drawn on the private sector to administer pensions schemes for large numbers of participants.

For example, in the US, JPMorgan and another leading player administer pensions accounts for more than 20 million participants. We look forward to sharing this experience and actively participating in the success of Personal Accounts.”