Common Sense and Efficiency

The latest research from Alliance Bernstein carries no surprises. It says that the consumer expects a common sense approaches to investment- a feeling of control but without certainty of outcome. A combination of good governance and a sensible default fund is expected. But consumer common sense also says it’s okay to expect a spread of outcomes at retirement.

What is also expected though is flexibility and freedom at retirement. That’s fine and good if we know what we’re doing. The NAPF tell us in Pensions Expert that we don’t know what we’re doing because the Government has failed to give us the detail. With 30 working days to go before the pension freedoms, what the consumer doesn’t want is someone telling them that ‘yes, the freedoms exist’, but ‘no, you can’t benefit from them because we don’t know what to do.’

Will we get the detail in time? Or has election fever already affected output?

Common sense and efficiency from the Government would be welcome right now.

Giving it the Bird

Congratulations Pension Expert. You valiantly resisted birdie jokes alongside the article on the RSPBs underpinning of their pension scheme. Only three were in evidence: The RSPB ‘hatching a plan’ 'broader flightpath' and 'migrating assets'.

However, I have no such qualms. It seems to me the RSPB have avoided nesteggs, shunned feathering their nest, seen the wood from the trees in their flightpath and adopted an early worm approach with regard to the recovery period.

Their approach could act as a beak-on for other plans. I noticed Tom Dines was the author of the article. Trust he's eating chicken tonight. Okay, not the best bird jokes, I know. Guess I may not tweet this one. :-)

A Long Road

It’s pleasing to see the views in the press that the new DC flexibility could increase member savings (Pensions Expert). I agree. There is room for optimism. Fewer restrictions on the pension should result in more willingness to save.

Another article, this time in Professional Pensions, records the latest LV survey. The income of the average retiree is almost 24% less than the minimum wage. There’s a lot of stats behind that statement of course, but one thing is clear, the new flexibility HAS to increase member savings. The savings gap is growing. We’re on the right track, it’s a good start, but (to retain the track analogy), it’s a long road.