Reckless company bosses who plunder staff pension schemes will be jailed for up to seven years under proposed new laws introduced in Parliament last night. The Pension Schemes Bill will also trigger major reforms revolutionising retirement planning and boosting incomes by up to seven percent a year.

Ministers said the package of measures would make Britain the “best place in the world” to retire. “With this Bill, we’re pushing ahead with our revolutionary pensions agenda and delivering for the millions of people brought into saving for later life by our reforms,” Pensions Minister Guy Opperman said. “We’re ensuring those who put pension schemes in jeopardy feel the full force of the law, transforming the way people get information about their retirement savings and introducing a new pension that could boost returns for millions.

“This legislation is the crucial next step in making the UK the best place in the world to retire.”

The legislation will crackdown on company bosses who run pension schemes into the ground or raid them to line their own pockets by giving regulators tougher powers to bring them to book.

It follows a number of high-profile company pensions scandals, including at BHS.

A year after it was sold by Sir Philip Green for £1 in 2015, the retailer collapsed into administration, leaving a £571million pension deficit.

Sir Philip later agreed to pay £363million towards it to end action against him by the Pensions Regulator.

The watchdog claimed Sir Philip sold the business to avoid responsibility for its pension schemes if the firm went bust.

But the reforms set out in the Bill are also aimed at making it easier for savers to secure a better retirement.

Online pension trackers that give savers instant information about their nest eggs will allow workers to see all of their pensions pots pulled together on a “dashboard” as well as their potential retirement income.

Industry leaders hope it will mean an end to the “£20billion pensions mountain” of forgotten funds that employees lose track of when they change jobs or move home.

The legislation will also allow the UK’s first Collective Defined Contribution pension scheme to be launched. 

The Dutch-style retirement system pools risks and give savers more stability and could lead to a bigger retirement income for the same cost.

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