Pensions Goth loves to explain what’s going on in pensions, what Government, industry and regulators are up to and what changes might mean for members. Pensions Goth loves cats, heavy metal music and is passionate about the truth, data and making sense of pensions.
She also tweets as #Pensions_Goth and you can find her on blue sky at @pensionsgoth.bsky.social
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Welcome to Pensions Goth Blog
Insights, stories, commentary and thoughts on pensions policy and events.
Blog categories
- Adequacy
- Advice
- AI
- Annuities
- Automatic enrolment
- Behavioural economics
- Benefits
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Is the second Pensions Commission preparing to lower adequacy targets?
The Commission’s interim report does not say it will lower the first Commission’s target replacement rates, but it does build the analytical case for doing so. It introduces a new set of lower “policy element” replacement rates based on what the State Pension and minimum automatic enrolment contributions…
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Scale is now law. What has to go right for it to pay off?
The Pension Schemes Act 2026 requires DC multi-employer schemes to hold at least £25 billion in a main scale default arrangement by 2030 to remain qualifying for auto-enrolment, with a transition pathway to 2035 for schemes that hold at least £10 billion by 2030 and a credible plan…
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Data infrastructure and the pensions dashboard: Interview with Chris Curry, Money and Pensions Service
I talk to Chris Curry about what the dashboard tells us about UK pensions infrastructure Pensions Goth: I want to explore the problems with data sharing in UK pensions, particularly the absence of a reliable identification number and wider gaps in data infrastructure. How has the dashboard programme…
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Clearing out the regulatory relics
Jemma Mouland, Deputy Director for Ageism and Inequality at Centre for Ageing Better, got in touch to discuss some of the age-based rules that remain embedded in pension and insurance regulation. This post sets out the key points from that conversation. Two recent policy changes signal that age…
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Adequacy, Automatic enrolment, Behavioural economics, Contributions, Defined Contribution, Pensions Commission, Private pensions
When the default becomes the norm
The Turner Commission’s design for auto-enrolment drew on US research showing that inertia could be used to keep people enrolled in pension schemes, and they were right; AE opt-out rates stayed below 10%. The same research showed that defaults can anchor savers at minimum contribution rates. The Commission…
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Regulators face a recurring problem
How do you ensure accountability without removing the judgement that good decision-making requires? There is no cost-free answer; metric-based systems cost less to administer but can distort behaviour, while qualitative supervision is more flexible but can place greater demands on regulators and schemes. The VFM framework was introduced…