The Association of British Insurers (ABI) has proposed that the Pensions Commission becomes a permanent body to ensure the UK meets its pension savings targets.

The ABI, whose 400 member companies represent about 94 per cent of the UK insurance market, has nominated three key targets it believes can boost by 2010 the number of people saving sufficiently in their pension to achieve a decent retirement income.

These targets would include a 50 per cent cut in the number of people not saving for retirement (currently 7.4 million) and in the number of people at risk of under-saving (currently 4.8 million).

The ABI would also like to see an increase to 75 per cent in the number of workers receiving an employer pension contribution of at least five per cent of earnings.

It believes that, in the longer term, government policy should have the explicit objective of achieving a replacement income in retirement (from the state pension and private savings) of at least 40 per cent of previous earnings, rising to 70 per cent for lower earners.

A programme of initiatives to be launched this year by the ABI will be intended to build greater confidence and trust in long-term savings, as well as addressing the concerns “most frequently put to the industry.”

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