The FSA publishes Occasional Paper comparing charges for personal pensions in UK and abroad.

The Financial Services Authority (the FSA) has published the thirteenth in its series of Occasional Papers. Paying for Pensions: An International Comparison of Administrative Charges in Funded Retirement-Income Systems by Edward Whitehouse of Axia Economics compares charges for UK personal pensions with those for equivalent products in other countries. The paper also analyses the advantages and disadvantages of various ways of controlling charges and fund management costs, and finds very different levels, even between countries with relatively similar systems.

Notes for editors

1. The FSA regulates the financial services industry and has four objectives under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000: maintaining market confidence; promoting public understanding of the financial system; the protection of consumers; and fighting financial crime.

2. The FSA aims to maintain efficient, orderly and clean financial markets and help retail consumers achieve a fair deal.

3. Edward Whitehouse is Director of Axia Economics a consultancy specialising in the microeconomic analysis of public policy and joint Manager of the World Banks Pension Reform Primer programme.

4. The paper is written in his personal capacity and the views expressed are not those of the FSA.

5. The FSAs Occasional Papers series is designed to encourage informed debate about financial regulation issues and has covered such topics as the rationale for regulation and the benefits of a single regulator, cost-benefit analysis in financial regulation, the International Financial Architecture, and the Price of Retail Investing in the UK. Copies of Occasional Papers are available from FSA publications (0845 608 2372), and can be found on the FSA Website: Occasional Papers