Ros Altmann like Edi Truell and a few other of my friends, is a force for good who gets a fair bit of stick,
Neither Ros (nor Edi for that matter) mind much. Being thick-skinned is a matter of course and is a necessary part of getting things done.
Tuesday’s Pension PlayPen Coffee Morning is a chance to ask Ros about her work and how she keeps on smiling!
Ros has got a lot done over her time and that includes some recent successes as a Baroness. Along with Sharon Bowles , she is changing the way investment companies present themselves to the UK market and this is one of the topics we will be discussing on Tuesday.
We’ll also be looking at the complex area of value for money, not just from the perspective of the saver, but from that of the UK taxpayer, who subsidises our pension system to the tune of £78bn a year. Are we getting value for that money, either in terms of the impact our pensions are having on relieving elderly poverty and in terms of reflating our laggard economy?
Finally, we’ll be looking at her work in the House of Lords and asking whether the current legislative system which relies on unelected peers promoting best practice in the regulation and taxation of financial services, is working as it should.
A word about money
For some time, Steve Goddard has been running these coffee mornings and http://www.pensionplaypen.com with his own private money. That has meant that we have enjoyed the pleasure of these meetings for free, but it is not a model that is sustainable for ever and we have decided to run a subscription service going forwards.
I pay for the privilege of going to these coffee mornings, not a lot – but if we all paid £3 pm, the cost of maintaining the site , getting getting the coffee mornings together and running campaigns as we have with “pension credit” , “the net pay anomaly” and now with “investment trust cost disclosure” could not be funded.
We are not a poor lot; relative to the average earner in the UK, we are a rich lot. We shouldn’t be Freddie Freeloaders for ever. So please sign up.
For people who have a conscientious objection to paying for anything online, I have a limited number of free passes which you can have by mailing henry@agewage.com. I will make a small donation to Steve for each free pass I distribute!
