"The challenge for the new public guidance body will be to work with legitimate pensions companies which are known and trusted by their customers"
Under a new amendment The Secretary of State will have to either bring a ban on cold calling into effect by June this year or come to parliament to explain why it has not been done.
The government has also tabled an amendment to strengthen the emphasis on free and impartial guidance from the new public financial guidance body, by requiring pension providers to check their customers have received guidance or have explicitly chosen to opt out of receiving such guidance.
The move follows a government consultation a year ago, and sustained pressure from the industry, consumer groups and the parliamentary select committee for a ban to be introduced.
Tom McPhail, head of policy at Hargreaves Lansdown, commented: “Investors need help planning their retirement but they also need to be protected from those who may not have their best interests at heart. The challenge for the new public guidance body will be to work with legitimate pensions companies which are known and trusted by their customers, without duplicating the valuable services these companies already provide.”
