This is what I admire the IFS for doing. Pointing out what the ABI and Pensions UK miss, that we are increasing pension contributions by doing nothing with the thresholds from which money flows into our pension pots and very soon the pensions we build up collectively.

The IFS do of course find losers among the winners. There will be some low earners who will find they cannot be granted pension credit unless they blow their pension pot and it looks as if those who have the smallest pots (under £10k) will not be included in the universal “pot to pension” revolution. Yes the pensioner with an incomplete national insurance record may not get the full state pension but have income from auto-enrolled private pensions.

But, as Carl Emmerson points out, the increasing contributions into low-earners pensions  are generally good news and will become a lot cheaper to the most hard up when their Low Earners Pension Payments arrive in 2027. I am not going over the ludicrous payments of these LEPP payments other than to say they are coming soon!

Auto-enrolment drag is what we’re in and it is increasing people’s pension while decreasing their take home, it is a very gradual move which may accelerate if the Pension Commission recommend it and we can see sense in seeing pension payments as deferred pay. We are some way off that now, but I hope that by the end of the decade we will have more trust in our pensions to increase contributions faster.