Friend draws attention to the range of products available and mentions the individual pension account. Members of the public will face difficulty in understanding the range of products available under the regulations. That will lead to a crucial need for advice. People are somewhat disinclined to pay for professional advice which, traditionally, has come from the industry and been funded by commission. On account of cost restrictions the regulations will militate against payment of commission to fund advice.
Friend is right.
Perhaps he will forgive me if I do not respond immediately but deal with that a little later as I wish to be brief so that others may contribute to the debate. On the point about complexity, anyone who knows the slightest thing about pensions, including ourselves as we consider our own pension provision, will know that in the target market people are seriously put off by the complexity of pension provision. We have always argued for total concurrency. The Government have argued that that would be a tax break for the rich. People could just about be paying tax at 40 per cent.