I’d be lying if I said I didn’t [miss being in government] in the sense that you can actually have the chance to implement change and not just comment on it. There’s nothing like it.
It’s far from straightforward in getting what you want to get done. But if you stick at it, you feel you can actually achieve things.
I’m excited about my new role. I’m not planning a dramatic move back to government.
Working for a mutual, where the owners of the business are your customers, was a natural move. I can still engage with people, although there are rules about what you can and can’t do as an ex-minister.
I can actually be better informed now. You can see the nitty gritty instead of the sweeping policies. It’s fun for me to see a different side of things.
Some people say [the pension freedoms] wasn’t ready on day one and that’s clearly true. But we could have delayed and delayed it.
We had to get the basic principle out there and get it up and running. I’m sure there will be refinements.
Clearly there are still issues – for example for the old elderly. It’s fine to be free at 55 or 60, but what are we expecting when people are 83? What regime we need for later retirement is still an open question.
My instinct is to trust people with their own money. But to make sure there’s the right advice and guidance framework in place.
There is more to be done to make sure people are getting the right support. The Financial Advice Market Review is highlighting the fact that people with bigger pots are paying for advice and it’s valuable, but there is a set of people who do not value advice enough.
Pension Wise is a piece of the jigsaw. On day one there had to be a place with definitive, factual information. There have been 2m hits so it must be doing something right.
I think the government needs to look at whether the resources going into it are keeping guidance going in the same way to help people access some form of advice. We have suggested piloting advice vouchers to perhaps people who would not ordinarily take advice.
I think the consumer protection issues are bigger with the second-hand annuity market than with the pension freedoms. We need to make sure people are protected.
I have said before that people on means-tested benefits should not be selling their annuities. If the government already thinks you haven’t got enough to live on, why would you sell part of your income?
It would have been fun to be chancellor. Although you have to make some pretty awful decisions in times of austerity.
Someone once described me as a very square peg in a square hole. I’m not sure how favourable that was, but I think I fitted the role I had.
I had an inkling to be an actuary when I was a teenager. My friends were trashing the park and I wanted to be an actuary.
What I like about pensions is that a good pensions policy has to take account of everything. A good policy has to be up to speed with wages, employment, social policy, etc.
In a funny way, I worked constructively with Iain Duncan Smith. Although our political views are some distance apart, we formed an effective working partnership and mutual trust.
Since May, I have discovered there is something apart from work in life. At the moment, I’m still in the recovery phase.
