The boundaries surrounding pension contributions and annual allowances have been muddied since the 2004 Finance Act changed the rules, and clarification is needed from HMRC

the news the government is planning to simplify state pensions has been broadly welcomed by the pensions industry. The industry has mostly resisted going down the ‘oh no, not again’ response and concentrated on the positives. Abolishing means-testing will not only simplify administration but also ensure everyone receives what they are entitled to. Besides, introducing the same pension for males and females surely is a long overdue measure – equality should not be an afterthought in the 21st century.

The first 100 days of the coalition have certainly proved busy for the pensions industry. The default retirement age will be phased out, the age 75 rule abolished and the National Employment Savings Trust is being reviewed.

party politics and speculation about what will happen to our country’s political landscape have understandably dominated our media over recent weeks.

The Centre for Retirement Reform, which launched earlier this year, has a clear vision for the changes it would like to see – and knows exactly which way to go to reach its goals

Redundancy payments are always bittersweet. But current government proposals could mean compensation leaves an even less palatable taste in the mouth. That’s because, in an ugly side-effect of its bid to spread the tax relief on pensions more widely, the government could soon find itself penalising the newly unemployed, simply because of their redundancy money.

Slowly but surely, pension policy seems to be moving in one direction: compulsion. Apparently exhausted with the long-term nature of encouraging people to take responsibility for retirement, the last few years have seen a shift of which personal accounts and auto-enrolment are the most high profile elements.

Why would an employer with a great pension scheme not want to tell the workforce about it whenever possible? No, I can’t work it out either.

There is a theory that if you say something often enough, people will believe it. In practice this works only so long as enough people are convinced. The Department of Work & Pensions (DWP) is hoping that enough people will be convinced about pensions reform and personal accounts, but the feedback from various influential audiences suggests otherwise.

According to the National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF), employees are showing more confidence in workplace pensions. When asked how confident they were in saving into a pension, compared with other forms of saving, 50% of those surveyed in Q1 of this year said they were confident. This compares to 48% for the same period in 2008. This is welcome news at a time when media headlines could have sent everyone into a spiral of despair.

Tempting though it is to shoot the bringers of more recession news, one set of messengers should be embraced.