At an hour when the Chancellor was in tears over paying for welfare , the PLSA announced it was no longer the PLSA but Pensions UK. At least they were adjacent items on my phone as I came back to the City from Canary Wharf, thinking how clement 25 degrees of sunshine is! I hope that Rachel Reeves is active for the next ten years and beyond, maybe she should have a re-brand too.
Pensions not lifetime savings are the priority, which of course is right, saving is just a means of getting to a point where retirement can happen. The thinking at the PLSA was about the right level of income to meet people’s needs and let’s hope that “Pensions UK” is about realising the plans.
Here’s the press release stuff to justify all the expense of the rebrand. My comments are in bold
The organisation said the move comes as the pensions sector enters a “defining period” of structural change, being “reshaped” by consolidation, the focus on investment in growth, and a spotlight on the need for people to be saving more for retirement.
Actually there’s too much money in some pensions (due to over-contribution for 20 years) and too little in others – if you can call DC pensions – pensions at all.
As part of the change – which sees the firm gain a new name, new logo and new visual identity – Pensions UK has published its new strategy for the next ten years and further and published a report, 2030 Ready, highlighting the changes among the sector and the societal context influencing relationships between savers and their pensions.
A weekend treat.
The report outlines Pensions UK’s mission which is to “help everyone achieve a better income in retirement”. The firm added: “To deliver on that we must do everything we can to prepare the industry and the wider pension system for the next decade.”
Pensions UK said it expects a range of changes to take place by 2035, including master trust assets to grow to more than £700bn, for Local Government Pension Scheme assets to more than double to nearly £1trn, and for defined contribution contract-based assets to rise to £600bn.It also expects open defined benefit schemes to continue to grow, but the overall size of the DB sector to continue to decrease.
Which makes a good argument for Pensions UK to continue to rake in subs from organisations not known for demanding value for money (a phrase that is appearing everywhere – alarmingly to many in marketing)
Pensions UK said, above all, it wants to see a pension system that provides an adequate retirement income to savers and is affordable and fair.
It added in the next decade it hopes to see adequate retirement incomes, delivered by a market that is well run and well regulated, pension investments that deliver strong risk-adjusted returns and play a positive role in society and the economy, schemes exercising fiduciary duties responsibly and in the long-term interests of savers, and savers supported in work and retirement by a system that is simple and digital-first, and by advice and guidance that is effective and accessible.
This is of course what the PLSA has continued to do , after it took on the identity of the NAPF it has done good work,
But now, it is has got its knickers in a twist over mandation of certain investments which it hopes will make the Chancellor cry more tears of frustration. Frankly there are better things to worry about, like paying pensions from these DC pots that so proliferate.
“Where we see red flags – like the risks attached to government mandating investments – we will do all we can to represent the views of members and interests of savers,” it added.
‘We must respond to change with clarity and purpose’
Very brave
Pensions UK chief executive Julian Mund said: “To shape the world we want to see in the 2030s, we must respond to change with clarity and purpose. Our strategy for 2025 to 2029 will prepare Pensions UK and its members to thrive as we enter the next decade. We’ll make pensions better, influence policy, give outstanding value to our members, build a great place to work and secure our future as an authoritative, purpose-led and impactful organisation.
That’s more like it Julian!
“We have a new name, new logo and new visual identity but, as the most trusted and authoritative voice of pensions, we will continue to do everything we can to help everyone get a better income in retirement.”
If that is the new focus , I’m 100% behind it, Pensions UK should adopt John Hamilton’s statement “100% secure, 100% invested!”
Pensions UK board chair Emma Douglas added: “The world of pensions is changing fast, and we need to stay ahead as retirement saving plays a defining role for the UK. The sector will require bold thinking and strong leadership.
“Our policy work for the next five years will be based on our understanding of the world we are likely to see in the 2030s, from the experiences of members and retirees to the structure of the pensions market and the direction of public policy. We’re drawing on the latest trends, projections and evidence to set out not just what is changing, but what must be done in response.”
Emma is able to make us feel good about vague aspirations, she has been doing it for a lifetime and it makes her the perfect chair of the new Pensions UK. Good luck to them
Here is the challenge, thrown down by an ex NAPF/PLSA – and now a Pensions UK stalwart (arriving on WhatsApp for anonymity!)
The PLSA is now Pensions UK.
Why?
They say because the pensions industry is entering a defining period.
Consolidation, a sharper focus on growth investment, and the urgent need to support savers are transforming the industry.
They say the new name reflects this shift and the role they play.
Savers may wonder why “life savings” has been dropped from their name?
Is Pensions UK really Pots UK?
Torsten and Zoe – at home with pensions
