Fresh pensions blow to Scottish independence
TREASURY minister Danny Alexander will today issue a further blow to Scottish independence hopes, this time to pension providers and those with investments in Scottish schemes.
In a speech at a pensions conference in Edinburgh the Liberal Democrat minister will warn that if Scotland votes to leave the UK it will have to develop its own pension protection body to financially underwrite schemes based in Scotland.
Owing to the smaller number of providers involved compared to the current UK-wide scheme, the risks would also be greater and costs higher, Alexander is to warn.
“Scotland has built a hugely successful pensions and financial services sector,” he will say, adding: “But with a different regulatory system and a different currency and different pensions protections many companies would have no choice but to relocate their businesses.” 91 per cent of pensions sold by Scottish firms are currently sold to non-Scottish residents, the minister will add. The speech comes just a week after Scottish pension company Standard Life said it would consider relocating its business if Scotland became independent.