Over the past six months Pensions Week has been putting effort into driving online debate on the issues that regularly grace these pages.
The context is our story from early June on younger people being less likely to opt out following auto-enrolment than some of their older peers. This backed up NAPF reports that younger employees of its membership organisations were the biggest group opting in to a workplace pension.
“Good to know people are thinking ahead and making provision for their future instead of living purely in the here and now,” commented Jennifer Skedd, pensions administrator at Hornbuckle Mitchell. London & Caledonian Trustees director Christine Brightwell agreed, but said: “I think the real telling point will be when the transitional period is over.”
The Pensions Trust member-nominated director Joe Robertson said “good for younger people”, prompting Matt Dorrington, consultant at Concert Consulting, to ask: “Makes you wonder why the people who do stay in never joined in the first place!?!?”
Brightwell suggested apathy was the answer to this question, leading Robertson to conclude: “Which is why compulsion is better.”
Reading that, it occurred to me there could be a pensions version of Godwin’s Law, which states any discussion of workplace pensions eventually deteriorates into a debate over the merits or otherwise of compulsion. But luckily I was proved wrong, as the subject didn’t stick. “It’s 50/50 on the apathy and poor marketing/promotion/procedure from the employer who may see the pension scheme as an inconvenience,” said Dorrington.
Brightwell pointed out many employers did not have a scheme to market before auto-enrolment, and gave a shout-out to a finance book aimed at 6 to 16-year-olds. “Hopefully this kind of thing will lead to a generation who are much better at looking out for themselves financially from a much younger age,” she said. Hear hear.
Have something to say on young people’s savings, political wrangling over the triple lock, or the Society of Pension Consultants’ fears on pot-follows-member? Just head over to our LinkedIn group and join in the discussion.
Ian Smith is editor of Pensions Week. You can follow him on Twitter @iankmsmith and the team @pensionsweek
