Steve Webb must not do a U-turn on the package of pensions reforms that are due for implementation in 2012, warns the National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF).

The industry voice said it was concerned that the Government will choose to delay the timing of auto-enrolment into pensions, to alter the terms of the 2012 programme and to question the future of the National Employment Savings Trust (NEST).

The NAPF reiterated its belief that the Government needs to increase and improve saving for retirement, particularly among the vulnerable and lower paid. It said the 2012 proposals are the best available route to do so.

“When it comes to their retirement, 12 million people in the UK are either not saving at all, or are not saving enough,” said Joanne Segars, chief executive at the NAPF. “It has taken almost a decade to arrive at this package of reforms, which will help more people to secure a pension. The Government must not lose sight of that now. Any review of the reforms should be about the details, not the direction of travel.”

The Government should also nurture good quality workplace pensions by creating an environment without excessive red tape or tax burdens.

The NAPF added that changes to pension tax relief will be hugely damaging for many people other than the high earners that it targets. The annual allowance for tax-incentivised pension saving should be lowered from £255,000 to around £50,000.

Segars also said a new, simple state pension should be instated, the Foundation Pension.

“The current two stream state pension system is confusing and delivers unequal outcomes, especially across the genders. The Foundation Pension would put more money in pensioners’ pockets, and it would also create a stable, guaranteed floor on which to build additional workplace pensions,” Segars concluded.

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