Chapter 7 : 'Conclusion: Developing a National Narrative'

The key lesson from our research and discussions is that we need a national narrative on pensions if we are going to build a consensus around retirement income provision. The alternative is to live in a Tower of Babel with any sensible messages drowned out by a cacophony of mixed and often contradictory signals that will just confuse the majority of pension scheme members in the retirement phase of their lives. The dream of a comfortable retirement could easily turn into a nightmare. We identify five key factors that need to make an appropriate contribution if the objective of a national consensus is to be achieved: the pensions industry itself, national media, the regulatory system, the political system, and the pension tax system (and the implications this has for the level of pension savings built up prior to retirement). We make a number of recommendations that will help support the objective