While there can be no debate that auto-enrolment has transformed the retirement prospects of millions of workers, we can’t escape the fact that there’s still much to be done to improve the financial security of much of the population.
The FCA’s Financial Lives Survey of 2020 told us that a fifth of UK adults have low financial resilience, something which will be pushed to its very limits by the pressures of the cost-of-living crisis.
What we’re currently seeing in these very challenging economic circumstances is that customer-focused organisations have a key role to play in society. When only 1 in 3 people with a pension ‘trust the system’, and 1 in 4 people have low confidence in UK financial services, we can help change that for the better. Mistrust can have a clear and negative impact on someone’s savings, so our vision is a country where millions of people lead financially stronger lives because of their trust in us.
As a young boy growing up in Karachi, Pakistan, I really had to focus on education to achieve in life, which led me to become an actuary. Growing up in difficult circumstances, I’m well aware of the importance of social mobility and the need to build financial resilience across all segments of society. My involvement in running one of the largest workplace pensions businesses in the UK has given me genuine insight into the history of auto-enrolment and why its subsequent success, and organisations like ours, has such an impact on the financial futures of people across the UK.
One of the great strengths of auto-enrolment is that it had consensus across the political divide and was a project that the UK stuck to through different governments. This was a policy that required long-term thinking and commitment and with that same vision and commitment, organisations such as ours can make a significant difference, not just to our own members, but to wider society.
I am motivated by the fact we at People’s Partnership can make a real difference to the future of this country, because when people work for us, they are not only serving this company but are also serving wider society.
What is clear to me about the people who work for our organisation is their shared passion for our members. Our mission is to provide straightforward, accessible, trusted products and support that help people become financially stronger, and I’m very excited to continue playing my part in that as Chair of the Board. We’ve continued to deliver on our social purpose over the past 80 years, not least by making pensions accessible, simple and low cost, is something that I’m extremely passionate about.