Not in the sense that the arrival of the new personal pensions in 2012 will cause riots on the streets. But in the sense that a once simple policy goal becomes so complicated by practical considerations and compromises along the way that it fails. Spectacularly.
Ministers yesterday announced, in outline, how people will be charged for the new pensions - and the way that is to happen may just prove the straw that breaks the back of the scheme.
The goal for the new personal pensions – now known as NEST – was clear when Adair Turner’s Pensions Commission recommended, back in 2005, that they should be introduced from 2010.
A simple, low cost pension, into which millions of lower to middle income earners with no pension provision would be automatically enrolled, through with the right to opt out.
Since then the timetable has slipped, and a series of practical considerations have led to a swift start becoming a decidedly prolonged roll out. Read more
Jim Pickard
Kiran Stacey