Pensions Minister, Torsten Bell, has seemingly ruled out the idea of a long-term savings commission as a way of building consensus, suggesting that those who think this is the best approach are “living in la la land” given shifts in the political landscape in Britain. Pension Age – Edinburgh – March 2025

The Pension Minister told all who would listen that he had no time for the la-la-land of savings time Commissions. Perhaps he is thinking of Noah and Nelly’s first ever episode (Sept 1976 – it was still hot)

This strikes me as vital protection of saving and I hope that Andy Agethangelou will protect us from Charlotte Clark – former savings mistress at DWP and the woman behind Nest’s formation. Her’s was the job of cutting FOS reference and

“the most significant roll-back of post global financial crisis protections ever”.

Paul Lewis has broadcast the series of reforms put forward by the FCA, Treasury and pro targeted support (rather than relying social media).  Heavens helps us -Paul Lewis who knows that cash is the best investment for you self invested personal pension  and Andy Agethangelou has determined to pitch the Transparency Taskforce against the FCA which encourages “investments”.

You can listen to Paul Lewis’ discussion with Charlotte here.  We need for her and the FCA to get us investing and protect us from mean looking playing cards. If this discussion of consumer protection is anything to go by, the next 18 months with the Savings Commission might as well be with Noah and Nelly. It mustn’t be – Clarke should be left to sort out the FCA and others TPR.

Listen to Paul and Charlotte HERE

Listen to Andy and the Transparency Agethangelou conduct  an emergency meeting on Zoom about the statements made by the Financial Conduct Authority  HERE

Living in a land of common people

I had thought we were gong to get some sensible comment about La La Land commissions but sadly we got a list of colleagues and friends who will agree in tumultuous accord that we should save more and get “adequacy”.

I do not think we need to take 18 months and a host of research projects from Nest Insight, Standard Life centre and Scottish Widows to confirm that we should save more.

Instead we need to work darn hard with organisations as diffuse as Crisis and the DWP’s benefit teams to understand what is going on with poverty and how we can get those who get no share in the wealth of this nation, some decency.

Here’s Sophie Smith of Pension Age reporting Torsten Bell , word for word, I have the recording of Bell in Edinburgh

“I understand why people in industry and others will ask for those kind of things because it .. implies there’s some kind of Nirvana available of a political consensus when all the problems go away and the spreadsheet gives you the answer,” he stated.

However, he argued that “that world .. probably never existed, and it doesn’t exist today.”

A way forward is hard and bitter

I know Andy Agethangelou and I like him, I have worked with Paul Lewis too. Andy lives with people whose lives have been ruined by being defrauded and Paul has been embittered by the failure of the retail financial services sector. I do not blame Andy for considering the FCA and the Treasury are committing “the most significant roll-back of post global financial crisis protections ever”.  

Nor do I blame Paul Lewis for exposing Charlotte’s in her soft-headed moment – at one end of the spectrum of La La, there refusal to accept “investment as a  means to getting there” is understandable though over stated.

But the fact remains that the vast majority of people will need to be invested to get where they want to be and investment must be the default put of which the conscientious depositors (like Paul) can opt. It is harder and tougher being an honest broker for investment than to accept the La La world that I listen to from the “adequate” soft-heads.

No space for marketeers either

Catherine Foot, Director of Standard Life’s Future for Retirement is on a marketing drive for Standard Life’s philanthropic profile to be taken seriously. This is marketing and including tough kids like Johnny Timpson in her list of supporters simply infuriates.

If we are to have a Savings Commission which is not a Noah and Nelly love boat for the middle class than it must be rid of the marketing department of life companies – please!

If at one end we have Paul and Andy who would have us of investment and growth, on the other we need to be rid of the marketeers arguing for Australia as a contribution structure for AUM and annuities.

Let’s stay clean and avoid La La Land.

Let’s clean it up and let Drake, Pearce and the serial non-exec at Kingfisher have a tough couple of years and report findings every so often. This is not the main game, for all he might say now , Bell knows this is likely to be Savings La La Land.

But let us rid ourselves of the most extravagant horrors of fraud-phobia and middle class marketeers, the twin exponents of La La ism in the world of inadequate provision.

Instead, let’s have clean and non patronising policy that sets about doing what its best Nest’s sidecar does and which is mostly done in conjunction with a proper benefit system and most of all a fine state pension.

There’s no messing with Drake. Pearce and Cheshire can learn a little from her experience. But let’s not suppose there is a clean win for those on the fringes. We need good people like Charlotte Clark  in the FCA but much more we need politicians like Bell who see things for what they are.