Jan 16 2007
The government has this week announced the launch of a new financial capability strategy, including the establishment of a generic financial advice service, after noting that many workers are not saving enough for their retirement.
Ed Balls, economic secretary to the Treasury, and James Purnell, pensions reform minister, spoke at the Anne Taylor Children's Centre in Hackney, charging a taskforce with the job of designing a generic service to advice all citizens in their financial dealings, from debt to saving for a pension.
Mr Purnell said: "Millions of workers are not saving enough for their retirement.
"That's why we are making it much simpler for people to save through automatic enrolment into a new system of personal accounts, or into workplace pension schemes."
He added that giving people access to generic financial advice would enable them to make decisions regarding their opting out of such a scheme.
Citizens Advice hailed this announcement by the government as a "positive step" for effective teaching of financial skills.
