Next week's Budget is a "golden opportunity" for the Government to support pension schemes and savers through a package of measures to help meet its objective to 'reinvigorate occupational pensions', the National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF) has said.

As part of the NAPF's Budget 2014 submission, the organisation said that there should be no further tax changes on pension contributions or benefits for the remainder of this Parliament as it acts as a disincentive to save in a pension it adds "considerable" complexity and administrative burden on pension schemes.

More long-dated and index-linked gilts should be issued by the Government as part of the Debt Management Office's (DMO) remit to help pension schemes match their liabilities, the NAPF said.

The Government and DMO should also consider issuing CPI-linked gilts to further support pension funds, and they should consult with the pensions and insurance industry to determine how a CPI-linked market could be developed.

The NAPF said that the Government should take action to ensure there is a transparent and efficient annuities market, and should support employer-facilitated advice by clarifying the law and providing tax incentives to employers providing 'at retirement' advice to employees.

"We have welcomed Government interventions to date, but there is more to do," the NAPF said. "Government must not shy away from intervening to ensure savers receive good value, and should actively help employers to provide guidance to their pension scheme members."

The NAPF also said that the Government should support future defined benefit (DB) provision by introducing legislation at the earliest opportunity that allows scheme sponsors to offer core DB for future accrual.

Allowing employers greater flexibility in DB scheme design could reduce scheme liabilities and improve funding positions.

Additionally, the NAPF said that the Government should actively support long-term institutional investors like pension funds access the market for infrastructure.

The NAPF said: "There is growing demand by pension funds for infrastructure investment. To support this, the Government should develop a clear pipeline of assets and associated investable instruments suitable for pension funds."

First published 13.03.2014

monique_simpson@wilmington.co.uk