Bank of England pensions row

Pensioners group Saga have said the Bank of England's Quantative Easing measure are "impoverishing pensioners" after the bank issued a report saying that pension schemes had benefited.

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Bank of England: Economy would have been worse without QE

The Bank of England has said that quantitative easing (QE) has helped the UK avoid an even worse economic battering.

It said:

Without the Bank's asset purchases, most people in the United Kingdom would have been worse off.

Economic growth would have been lower. Unemployment would have been higher. Many more companies would have gone out of business. This would have had a significant detrimental impact on savers and pensioners along with every other group in our society.

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Bank of England's QE scheme boosted Britain's wealthiest

The wealthiest 5% of Britons saw their fortunes increased further by the Bank of England's economy-boosting efforts while many pension funds have suffered according to a report by the Bank.

Its quantitative easing (QE) programme has increased total household wealth by 16%, or £600 billion, after increasing the value of assets.

But it was the richest households - holding around 40% of these assets - that have felt the benefit the most.

Saga: Bank of England's QE is 'permanently impoverishing pensioners'

Dr Ros Altman, Director general of Saga, has accused the Bank of England of failing to properly address the impact of quantitative easing on 21 million people over 50 who she says have been negatively impacted.

The damage is particularly problematic, yet the Bank keeps suggesting it is not due to QE. The reality is very different. Buying gilts and artificially driving down gilt yields which underpin both defined benefit and defined contribution pensions is causing significant economic damage, is permanently impoverishing pensioners, is pushing up inflation and damaging consumer spending. All the negative impacts need to be taken more seriously.

– Dr Ros Altman, Saga

Bank of England: 'QE has not harmed pensioners'

The Bank of England have issued a report claiming the quantitative easing (QE) has not harmed pensioners and in some cases may have helped pension schemes.

The Bank of England claim that QE has had a neutral or positive affect on pension schemes.
The Bank of England claim that QE has had a neutral or positive affect on pension schemes. Credit: Yui Mok/PA Wire

In a paper published in response to a request by the treasury Select Committee for the Bank to explain the costs and benefits of its monetary policy.

The Bank has said: "The paper shows that QE also has a broadly neutral impact on a fully funded ‘defined benefit’ scheme. Moreover, the pension incomes of people coming up to retirement in a defined benefit scheme, whether fully funded or not, will have been unaffected by QE."