NATIONAL EMPLOYMENT SAVINGS TRUST

That this House welcomes the National Employment Savings Trust (NEST) as a necessary intervention into the pensions market to provide low cost pensions for a new generation of savers; believes that the restrictions placed on NEST in the form of the annual contribution cap and transfer ban put a burden on businesses wishing to use NEST and are not in the interests of consumers who want to consolidate pensions savings in a single pensions pot; recognises that the restrictions on NEST have already delivered the policy intention of focusing NEST on developing products for low earners; notes that the Director General of the Association of British Insurers told the Work and Pensions Select Committee that NEST was setting standards for good value in the pensions market; further believes that the effect of driving up standards would be enhanced if the two restrictions were lifted; further notes that the Work and Pensions Select Committee called on the Government to remove these restrictions as a matter of urgency; and urges the Government to acknowledge the political consensus to remove NEST's restrictions and to do so at the earliest opportunity.