Former Editor, Maria Espadinha, writes for Pensions Expert
For years, there has been this running joke that I was the crazy journalist who loved Guaranteed Minimum Pensions. Who in their right mind would like something so fiendishly complicated, which brings headaches to schemes and so few benefits to members?
Looking back in time, this should have been a hint that I was destined for other things than just pensions journalism. Don’t get me wrong, it was the best of times, where I met the most wonderful people and was able to report on various interesting topics. I’m also proud of all of the added value me and my team provided the pensions industry with over the years, thanks to thoughtful analysis pieces we produced and going the extra mile to dig up important stories.
But since I’ve joined the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association, I’ve been able to delve deeper into these issues: I’ve participated in meetings over GMPs, of course, but I’ve also been working on important projects such as the Stewardship and Voting Guidelines and the future of the Local Government Pension Scheme, just to name a few. And let’s not forget the McCloud case — another pensions headache, in this case for the public sector — which is also a favourite of mine.
I believe there is a sense of mission among pension professionals, who’s main goal is to ensure people can have a better retirement. In a way, it is a similar objective as the one I had as a journalist — make peoples’ lives better through accurate and thorough reporting, while giving individuals information so they can make informed decisions.
So, it wasn’t a big jump for me to come and work for an organisation which has the mission to create a more affordable and sustainable pensions system, and help everyone achieve a better income in retirement. Maybe I’m romantic and naïve, but I do feel I can make a difference.
It has been an adjustment in terms of mindset — going from daily deadlines with a streamlined working process to a more detailed approach, where governance plays a big part. Before joining the PLSA, I never had a three-hour meeting; but these are extremely important for the work we do. Another big difference is in the way we work collaboratively, which for me is a plus — the daily work of a journalist is very independent. At the PLSA, teamwork isn’t just a buzzword and is great to be able to brainstorm and work with great colleagues.
I take pride in belonging to a team which came up with the Retirement Living Standards, which allow savers to picture what kind of lifestyle they could have in retirement. These are being adopted by schemes and providers and the next step is for these to be included in pension dashboards. By 2025, the PLSA wants to see 90% of active savers belonging to a pension scheme that uses the Retirement Living Standards in its member communications.
I’m taking forward the great work done by my colleagues to future proof the LGPS. The PLSA published a report last year which outlines 14 underlying challenges to the scheme and 24 recommendations across four different themes. With the goal to fortify the LGPS’ long-term sustainability, we are now actively working on implementing these recommendations, and we will be presenting two relevant pieces of work in this area at the Local Authority Conference 2023, which takes place at the Cotswolds between 26 and 28 June.
It would take me much longer than I’m allowed in this article to list all the amazing projects the PLSA is working on, but I’ll leave you with a mention to our recent proposals to attract greater pension fund investment in assets that have the potential to drive growth in the UK economy.
It has been one of the hot topics in pensions over the recent months, with several calls from government, stakeholders and the media for schemes to increase direct investment in infrastructure, private markets and venture capital. But before we reinvent the wheel and disrupt what has been working well for the industry, we came up with a series of proposals which present a quicker and simpler way of achieving these objectives.
At the centre of this — and at the heart of everything we do — are the interests of the savers whose money pension schemes manage. Let’s never forget that.
Maria Espadinha is a senior policy advisor at the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association and former Editor of Pensions Expert
