Abstract
This thesis analyses the reasons for the growth of private sector defined benefit occupational pension schemes in the UK in the first two thirds of the twentieth century and their decline after 1967, slowly at first but rapidly after about 1995.The thesis analyses, in more depth than previous studies, the data available from surveys by government departments, starting in 1936, and industry bodies from 1975. This data shows not only the rise and fall of total pension scheme membership but also the strong correlation between employer size and pension provision, the continuing improvements in benefits, and the rising underlying costs of providing pensions, masked in the 1980s and 1990s by apparent pension fund surpluses. From 1994 there is survey data on employers’ attitudes to pension schemes. National accounts data and a database on large company schemes compiled for this thesis are also used.
The effect of the favourable tax treatment of pension schemes from the 1920s, and the restriction of these advantages from 1986, is assessed, as is that of other government policies, beginning in 1961 with the introduction of the graduated state pension, with an option to contract out. From 1973 numerous government measures served to protect the security and real value of DB pensions but increased costs and risks for employers. Costs also rose because of much increased life expectancy and, from 2000, lower investment returns. After 2000 new accounting standards and the new regulatory regime reduced the ability of employers to push pension costs into the indefinite future. Other changes in taxation from 1989 gradually reduced the personal interest of company directors in continuing defined benefit pension schemes.
| Date of Award | 1 Feb 2021 |
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| Original language | English |
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| Supervisor | Patricia Thane (Supervisor) |