Plenty to talk about in Rishi’s Reshuffle this week, little, if any, in a positive way, I’d say. Leaving aside the Old-Etonian Elephant in the room, it’s certainly true that the role of pensions minister has been still-further devalued. It’s seen as a junior stepping-stone to greater political glory and few have been in post long enough to make any sort of a difference. I guess most MP’s find the nitty gritty of pensions about as interesting as most of the rest of the population, we nerds aside. But the financial future of the various Gen Zs, Xs et al will rely on someone willing to get a grip, and take a long-term view of that actual nitty gritty. Some actual cross-party thinking is needed, as by its very nature, pension-planning is a long-term thing. Just like long-term care. So it’s dream-on time, alas.
“Only a quarter currently in employment expect ‘hard stop’ retirement”
Although it’s still part of the language of working (or not working), I do think the concept of retirement will continue to evolve and quite likely dissipate in times still to come.
