With auto-enrolment, I focus on walking before you run. There’s an awful lot of work still to be done.
Everyone would agree [auto-enrolment] contribution levels are not adequate. Contributions levels will have to increase – saying that isn’t revolutionary.
We’re still at the early stages of development of what the solutions need to look like. There’s a tendency to focus on the challenges of the here and now.
The interesting question is what about those for whom DC pension savings are what they have to rely on to supplement the state pension. But the discussion about that generation, who will come through in the next 10 or 15 years, is at an early stage.
It is not just about how we provide guidance to navigate through the options. It is also about how we design solutions to make it easier to make those decisions.
Any decision is a balance between what you know, how well the options are presented, and how well designed the options are for your needs. At the moment we aren’t really engaging as an industry and as a society.
The most important thing [George Osborne] can do is give us a bit of time to engage properly on answering the questions he’s raising. This is so we can achieve something similar to what Turner achieved.
We could design models for the future which could work better, but how do we try to transact to that sensibly? We don’t want to undermine the existing provision that has been built and is really important for those savers in terms of their financial future.
On certain issues, there is no better alternative than a trade body. Particularly as a way for an industry to respond to change driven by regulation or legislation or something significant that’s happening in the business.
All the evidence demonstrates people find it hard to engage with financial issues and products and how money works. This is an area I’ve been involved with for years, through education, Pfeg, and a review I did years ago.
Having finance in the curriculum is an important first step. Giving teachers the tools and support they need is still something that needs to be worked on. I don’t think that’s fully sorted yet.
The interesting thing about personal finance is it can make other subjects relevant. One of the best examples I’ve seen in a school is where it has been used to make mathematics more simple and to feel relevant to kids by bringing it in to a form that makes sense to them
Technology has revolutionised the way we can deliver service. The flexibility you have with managing data, and to communicate and engage with people.
It is one of the hardest things for those like me who are older. Not because we’re not good at dealing with it, it’s just not as natural to us.
The best piece of advice I have been given is, to listen to what is being said rather than hearing what you think is said. We all jump to conclusions, in personal lives and business.
During a meeting with Martin Wheatley, I got us talking about music. He said I must get back into my vinyl collection because I would enjoy music much more again.
I bought myself a second-hand record deck, added some decent speakers and rediscovered music. You spend more time listening rather than having it on in the background. It has been a life changing investment.
I’m a committed golfer since I was five years old. I like being able to compete on even terms and I love that it gets me out into the real open air.
