Clause 1 - Meaning of “Savings and Retirement Account (SaRA) schemes”

Part of Rights of Savers Bill – in a Public Bill Committee am 2:45 pm ar 14 Rhagfyr 2005.

Danfonwch hysbysiad imi am ddadleuon fel hyn

Photo of Malcolm Rifkind Malcolm Rifkind Ceidwadwyr, Kensington and Chelsea 2:45, 14 Rhagfyr 2005

In a sense, I am very relaxed on whether there should be a formal cap. The reality is that a scheme of the type proposed in the Bill would carry far less cost than has been the case in the past. The cost would probably be comparable to that with   an ISA because of the multiplicity of people who would be able to offer potential savers participation in such a scheme. The Minister will be aware that the problem with stakeholder pensions, for example, has been that life offices in similar institutions have primarily had the monopoly on provision, so they have not been worth people’s while and people have not been attracted by them. In contrast, ISAs are offered by a far broader spectrum of people in the financial sector. That has made them more competitive and has pushed costs down in a very acceptable way.