It’s water not retirement that grabs the headlines this morning. The announcents over the past few days have grabbed the headlines and the eyeballs, the state of our rivers, lakes and health are more important to us right now than the Commission on Adequacy announced this morning. Things have gone so far with water that we are seeing recommendations from Sir John Cunliffe to get a new single regulator, many are calling for the same for retirement saving. Here’s Kate Beioley.
Ofwat, the water regulator for England and Wales, should be replaced by an “integrated” watchdog for the industry, according to the final recommendations of an independent commission set up to probe the oversight of the sector. Sir Jon Cunliffe, a former deputy governor of the Bank of England, has recommended that a new water regulator in England replace Ofwat and the Drinking Water Inspectorate, and assume the water environment related functions of the Environment Agency and Natural England. Delve into all the detail of the 465-page report
Strike any chords with pension regulation? Perhaps but not to the Government or FT!
Nor has the FT has not seen much interest in a Pension Commission despite the story getting three FT journalists working on it. Here’s what is of interest this morning
It’s all about water! It’s not about Pension Commissions at all
The BBC also report the story but again the headline is the slump in retirement income (not contributions, not state pension and not the 2017 reforms).
This Commission is being launched against a background story that we do not have proper income for 45% of the working population (a figure given by Torsten Bell to the FT).
But it is the 45% who aren’t in the workplace pensions that troubles Government, not the contributions to the middle class and wealthy.
The Pension Commission will report in 2027. What is happening now is a clever game by the Government , one that walks away from the 2017 reforms. There is no way we will be saving at Australian levels by the end of this parliament. Just as well we focus on the State Pension and making what we have pay retirement incomes to the 45% who don’t save.