The consultation documents published as Cm. 8053 (ISBN 9780101813129)

In this document the Government is looking at options for delivering a simpler and fairer state pension which rewards those who save for their retirement and is sustainable for future generations. The consultation is on two broad options for reform of the state pension, and the most appropriate mechanism for determining future changes to state pension age. The four guiding principles for pension reform are: personal responsibility; fairness; simplicity; affordability and sustainability. The options for reform of the state pension are: (1) faster flat rate or (2) a single tier pension. Currently the basic state pension is a flat-rate payment of £97.65 a week and the state second pension is partly flat rate and partly linked to earnings, such that higher earners receive a higher state pension. Option 1 would accelerate reforms so that the state second pension becomes fully flat rate by 2020 instead of the early 2030s. At the end of the transition those with a full contribution record - about 30 years - would receive the full pension, in two tiers, currently estimated at about £140 a week. Option 2 is a more radical approach, combining the two existing pensions into one single-tier pension. Future pensioners with at least 30 qualifying years would receive the same flat-rate pension currently estimated at £140 a week. This payment would be set above the basic level of support provided by Pension Credit. There are also two options for changing state pension age: through a formula linked to life expectancy; through a regular review.

The Model Rules of Professional Conduct provides an up-to-date resource for information on legal ethics. Federal, state and local courts in all jurisdictions look to the Rules for guidance in solving lawyer malpractice cases, disciplinary actions, disqualification issues, sanctions questions and much more. In this volume, black-letter Rules of Professional Conduct are followed by numbered Comments that explain each Rule's purpose and provide suggestions for its practical application. The Rules will help you identify proper conduct in a variety of given situations, review those instances where discretionary action is possible, and define the nature of the relationship between you and your clients, colleagues and the courts.

The Government considers that a system of automatic transfers to the new employer's scheme is the favoured approach, and want to develop a model of automatic transfers that includes pots created in automatic enrolment only. They agree that there is a need to look at issues of consumer detriment and how the system might work where people have multiple jobs or gaps in employment. They will work with industry to explore the potential of a virtual pot solution, particularly to help those with larger pots to see all their savings in one place. They will also work alongside the pension industry's new working group which will be looking at the scope to make more immediate improvements to the current volutnary transfer framework. Short service refunds are to be abolished but the idea of allowing micro pot refunds in an automatic transfer solution is to be explored

This book deals with the public policy-making process in contemporary Japan testifying a new dictum: 'The various phases of the policy process cause politics'. The analytical focus is threefold: encompassing the policy-making process on the national level; elections and the policy-making process; and the regional policy and decision-making. These analyses offer a number of original and comparative data on Japanese politics. This book also tries to interpret the basic pattern of Japanese politics, which contributes to a clear understanding of the dynamic aspects of the political process and political economy after the Second World War.

This paper outlines the Government's detailed proposition for state pension reform. It follows a consultation on the proposals set out in "A state pension of the 21st century" (2011, Cm. 8053, ISBN 9780101805322). There was consensus that the state pension system needed to be simplified and the aim is to merge the state second pension with the basic state pension, to create one flat-rate payment. The new flat-rate state pension will start in April 2017 at the earliest. The weekly payment will be £144, plus inflation rises between now and 2017. Chapters in this paper cover: the context for reform; the single-tier pension; managing the end of contracting-out; the transition to the single-tier pension; sustainability and assumptions; longer-term sustainability - state pension age. Annexes provide: a brief history of the state pension; faster flat rating - assessment against principles for reform; features of the single-tier pension and specific transitional arrangements; an example pension statement; proposed timetable for implementing the increase in state pension age to 67.

This book deals with the role of the State in pension provision as an employer, regulator and provider. Part I deals with problems and reforms of public sector pension systems in OECD countries. The countries covered are Denmark, Finland, Germany, The Netherlands, Norway, and the USA. Part II considers the regulation of occupational pension schemes in The Netherlands and the United Kingdom, and whether there is still a role for the State in providing earnings-related pensions in the United Kingdom. Part III presents demographic projections for the next half-century, using Ireland as an example, looks at some of the options which have been used in Finland, and proposed in the United States, to cope with population ageing, and examines issues of intergenerational equity which are posed by these options. All the chapters deal with recent reforms. The chapters are written by acknowledged experts in their field who are independent of both the pensions industry and Government. Hence the chapters provide an informed critical account of current developments in relation to the reform of occupational pension schemes in the public sector and of the debate about the State's role as a regulator of private pension schemes and a provider of pensions based on the social insurance principal. The book is important as a source of information about pension schemes in OECD countries. It shows that there is not a unique model of occupational pension provision for public sector employees and that the pension benefits which are provided in different countries are quite variable. It also shows that public sector occupational pension systems have changed and are in the process of considerable further change in a number of OECD countries.