Call for a Citizens’ Assembly on pensions - giving the public a voice in pensions reform

Why pensions reform is needed?

The UK pensions system is at a critical juncture.  Future generations of pensioners are at serious risk of being poorer than todays, unless we act now.

• 4 in 10 working age people are under saving for retirement
• The Gender Pensions Gap for people currently in their late fifties stands at 48%, meaning a typical woman might expect a private pension income worth over £5000 less per year than a typical man
• Over 3 million self-employed individuals are not saving into a pension

A Citizens’ Assembly to support the Pensions Commission

The Pensions Commission is tasked with delivering long-term recommendations that help deliver a strong, fair and sustainable pensions system. Reaching solutions to these challenges will require more than expertise and data modelling alone.  It will take values-based judgements on how to achieve a fair settlement across the UK population.

This report Deliberative Democracy & Pensions: Building a democratic mandate for pensions reform sets out how deliberative processes, and specifically a Citizens Assembly, could give citizens an informed voice and important opportunity to shape the future of UK pensions policy.

What is a Citizens’ Assembly?

A Citizens’ Assembly is a form of deliberative democracy whereby a representative group of the population are brought together and given the information, space and time to learn about and discuss a topic and make recommendations about what they think should happen.  National, regional and local governments globally, including in the UK, are increasingly using Citizens’ Assemblies to inform their decision-making.

A Citizens’ Assembly on the future of the UK pensions system could bring together a representative group of the population to;

• learn about the current pensions system, what’s working well and what challenges are with this status quo; and options for change
• to engage with trade-offs involved in delivering a strong, fair and sustainable pensions system
• to inform the work of the Pensions Commission and decisions of the Department for Work and Pensions

Read the full report Deliberative Democracy & Pensions: Building a democratic mandate for pensions reform

Key recommendations

The report argues that as individuals increasingly bear responsibility and risk for their retirement outcomes, any new pensions settlement must be shaped by the citizens whose futures depend on it.

It identifies three distinct but complementary ways to embed citizen voices at the heart of pensions policymaking:

1. a Citizens’ Assembly on the future of UK pensions
2. public dialogues with defined cohorts
3. an open call for public submissions

These recommendations have been developed through a scoping project working with a diverse range of stakeholders from across the pensions system. This involved a rapid evidence review, expert interviews and stakeholder workshop to understand and identify the opportunities and considerations for citizen involvement.

This new report published by participation specialists New Citizen Project has been funded and supported by the Standard Life Centre for the Future of Retirement, the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries, Pensions UK, People’s Pension, Nest, Nest Insight and Johnny Timpson OBE.