Next year's pension reform is a beginning and not an end, according to Pensions Minister Rt Hon Steve Webb.

Mr Webb told the NAPF conference that April 2015 is the "beginning of the next chapter" and that although mistakes are likely to be made, they are simply a natural consequence of trusting people with their own money.

"Next April is not the end of the story and I'm very excited about the potential. Will somebody get it wrong? Yes. But I'd rather default to trusting people than assume the state knows best," he said.

The conference heard Mr Webb's assessment of the pensions industry and his vision for its future.

He praised the new state pension, due to be in place by April 2016, as a 'vital foundation' and shared statistics on auto-enrolment, including that 4.6million people have already automatically enrolled.

Asking for feedback on how to establish a new threshold for auto-enrolment, he outlined several options, including index linking to prices or wages, linking to the tax threshold, or linking it to the state pension rate.

Talking about the future, Mr Webb discussed opt-out rates for auto-enrolment and stressed that compulsion is not the solution, suggesting default auto-escalation as a better alternative.

Mr Webb also discussed tax relief, saying the current structure for tax relief "will not hold."

"It's a hugely political topic with the least agreement across the political spectrum," he said.

He urged the industry to get ahead of the game by introducing a flat rate.

Mr Webb's vision ties in with the NAPF's own agenda, which prioritises the continuation of auto-enrolment and long term planning through an Independent Retirement Savings Commission.

NAPF chief executive Joanne Segars said pension reforms have given people clarity around retirement.

"We now have an opportunity to build on these changes and develop a pension system on which millions of people can depend," she said.

First published 30.10.2014

Lindsay.sharman@wilmington.co.uk