A new cross-industry report has called for the public to be given a voice in how pensions policy is shaped as the country faces a retirement crisis.
The report ‘Deliberative Democracy & Pensions: Building a democratic mandate for pensions reform’, says the public must be brought into decisions about the future of UK pensions if the system is to deliver fair and sustainable retirements.
The report was commissioned by New Citizen Project, the Standard Life Centre for the Future of Retirement, the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries, Pensions UK, People’s Pension, Nest Pensions, Nest Insight and Johnny Timpson OBE.
It argues that as individuals increasingly bear responsibility and risk for their retirement outcomes, any new pensions settlement must be shaped by the citizens who are affected by it.
A central recommendation of the report is the commissioning of a Citizen’s Assembly on the future of UK pensions, which would support the work of the Pensions Commissions and inform decision-making by the Department for Work and Pensions over the coming years.
The report says bringing together a representative group of the public will help them to better understand complex issues, hear diverse perspectives and weigh evidence-based trade-offs. This would enable people to develop informed, considered views that go beyond headline opinions or polling. In doing so, policymakers will also have a greater understanding of what the public considers to be a fair and sustainable pensions system, it argues.
As well as a Citizens’ Assembly, the report identifies two further “distinct but complementary” ways to embed citizen views within pensions policymaking. These include public dialogues with defined cohorts and an open call for public submissions.
Catherine Foot, director of the Standard Life Centre for the Future of Retirement, said: “Public involvement and consultation are not new to pensions policy. But what has changed is the sophistication of deliberative methods and our understanding of how they can support complex policymaking.
“Today’s pension challenges involve difficult trade-offs and long-term consequences. Deliberative approaches stand out for their ability to support the public to engage with these issues in a meaningful way, helping policymakers to ground reform in public values as well as technical advice.”
Zoe Alexander, executive director for policy and advocacy at Pensions UK, commented: “People are increasingly being asked to take more responsibility for decisions about their retirement, often against the backdrop of complex and unpredictable working lives.
“Crucially, by shaping the system not just through expert opinion but through the lived experiences of those it is designed to serve, a deliberative democracy approach can look at the system as a whole, from workplace saving through to the State Pension and tax, building trust in pensions reform and ensuring future policy reflects what people genuinely value and need.”
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