I’m glancing through some comments on my blogs on Linked in – because Linked In throws them at me. Here is an interaction between a retired but very noisy strategist (Damian) and a working consultant at a firm with a lot (3 million) accounts it is responsible for (Matt)

I’m guessing the two are of an age and looking at the same stage of life for the same kind of people (the well enough off to think retirement is voluntary), Here is the conversation

Rather than get embroiled in linked in comments, I’ll take advantage of sharing my thoughts. Firstly, I don’t have any expectation of DC providers to pay me a pension (right now) though that’s because I am one in at least 3m with L&G and 1 in 14m with Nest (my two providers). I simply want money to be paid into my account every month as if I was getting salary and I want the comfort that whether I live a month or 30+ years, I’ll get my pension. But do I expect there to be enough people at either “provider” to be my financial adviser – I’m with Matt – I have no expectation. I will be pissed off if things don’t happen if I get to the point when I want money paid to me – rather than taken from my payslip.

If I want to look at other things, Damian mentions floating drawdown hat and CDC, I could add “money in my bank account ” and annuity, then I can go and talk to people who I pay money to to tell me what my choices mean to me. I am very interested in the conversation that may be happing “off linked-in” between these two about the capacity of a consultancy (Broadstone) to provide “targeted support” to three million people. My suspicion is that the internet is now becoming a Q&A for people who have questions and they don’t pay Broadstone or Barnett Waddingham (Damian’s old firm) to get told.

I travel around on public transport and have taken to looking at what people research (when not playing games on their phones) and it’s a range of daily problems, including how to pay bills , get paid money due them and what to do to minimise injurious threats like tax, charges and the impact of unexpected falls in the money available (aka market insights).

We simply haven’t got the time to get through to someone to talk to or even the power in out phones, we just want the answer from Mr Chat GPT (or family).

To this army of L&G and Nest current and future pensioners (the Damians and Matts in terms of getting paid, I have hope that providers will simplify what they offer so that we get a regular income for life with value for our money. I expect “targeted support” will be sensible AI and I expect more sophisticated products to be available.

To give as an example, Nest. I expect them, within a couple of years to offer me a pension as the standard way of getting paid.  And , for those sophisticated  enough to want to do it like Damian, a flexible drawdown option. For those who want to buy “old school” there will be an annuity broker and for those who just want the comfort of their money at their fingers, a transfer to their bank account. Just what to do will be down to people’s capacity and wish to make decisions but for the vast majority of us who don’t want to take decisions, there will be  pension (like it says on the packet).

I feel for Matt, he probably has a fair few people like Damian on his book, bored with too much time on their hands and determined to have discussions with anyone who’ll have one about their complex requirements (#pot2pay and 3 levels for LIFE),. For answers to this complexity there are firms like St James Place who published their charges early this week (republished on this blog)

There may be wealth managers at Barnett Waddingham and Broadstone for those with money to spare to have a “support for life” rather than a “transactional” relationship.

But I don’t expect much more than a transactional relationship with Nest. L&G or for that matter with the State Pension, all of which are very good at telling me what’s coming my way. The stuff from the State Pension tells me when, how much and what will happen in three years time, L&G offer me a ridiculous digital journey and Nest currently tell me about a pot but not a pension.

As someone who asks questions I know that things are changing at Nest and I’m hoping that things are changing at L&G, if they could do what the State does, I’d be most impressed and surprised, I suspect that’s what the real point of the Pension Schemes Bill is.

I and Mr Chat GPT will have a conversation about the value for our money offered by providers. That’ll do.