The webinar will look at several aspects of intergenerational fairness and our panel of experts will challenge you, society, taxpayers and generations X, Y and Z on key aspects of DB v DC pensions, public v private sector pensions, state benefits and key aspects of sustainability. Whether you are young or old, employed in the public or private sector, self-employed or unemployed, a home owner or renter, asset rich or just saving, you are probably a tax payer with some family. Is your generation getting a fair deal? A Q&A session will follow to allow you to have your say and to quiz the panel.
- Lord David Willets will look at the intergenerational fairness of state pensions, the appropriateness of PAYG and consider broader national debt and social care issues.
- Sir Steve Webb will dispel some of the myths of intergenerational unfairness, explain why triple lock might be advantageous for younger savers and explore how DB regulation could be changed to improve fairness.
- Allan Martin will outline the crucial actuarial assumption dictating £2.1tn of unfunded public sector pension promises. He will also challenge the lack of apparent management of these index linked (gilt) commitments and ask whether we are guaranteeing future austerity with a lifetime (not triple) lock on such future payments.
- Hon Group Captain Sally Bridgeland will provide reflections from the actuarial profession’s perspective, compare and contrast public sector with private sector pensions, look at some of the unintended consequences of regulation over the last 30 years and the lessons learned for future sustainability and fairness in the context of the great risk transfer of DB pensions.
Speakers:
Rt Hon. Lord Willetts FRS
The Rt Hon. Lord Willetts FRS is the President of the Resolution Foundation. He served as the Member of Parliament for Havant (1992-2015), as Minister for Universities and Science (2010-2014) and previously worked at HM Treasury and the No. 10 Policy Unit. Lord Willetts is a visiting Professor at King’s College London, a Board member of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), a Board member of Surrey Satellites and of the Biotech Growth Trust.
Lord Willetts has written widely on economic and social policy. His book “A University Education” is published by Oxford University Press. A second edition of his book on the Boomers and the young generation “The Pinch” was published in November 2019.
Sir Steve Webb
Sir Steve Webb was Minister of State for Pensions between 2010 and 2015. During that time he implemented major reforms to the state pension system, oversaw the successful introduction of automatic enrolment and played a key role in the new pension freedoms.
Steve was a Liberal Democrat MP from 1997 to 2015. Before this he was professor of social policy at Bath University, having previously worked as an economist at the Institute for Fiscal Studies. He was awarded a knighthood in 2017. Following his time in Parliament he worked for Royal London before joining LCP as a partner in 2020.
Allan Martin
Allan Martin is a pensions scheme actuary with experience of both public and private sector schemes. After a traditional consultancy career with Hymans Robertson and PwC, Allan set up his own firm in 2002 and pension scheme trusteeship now dominates his work. Chairing the new Pensions Board of the Scottish Firefighters’ Pension Scheme in 2015 brought direct responsibility for unfunded public sector pension promises and awareness of the key underlying discount rate assumption. He feels strongly about the need to speak up on the topic and stresses the huge public interest surrounding these benefit promises.
Hon Group Captain Sally Bridgeland
Sally is Chair at Impax Asset Management Group plc, is a non-executive director at insurers Royal London and Pension Insurance Corporation, and at Local Pensions Partnership (LPP) Limited, where she chairs its regulated investment company.
Her non-executive portfolio has included roles at the Nuclear Liabilities Fund, NEST Corporation and the Lloyds Bank pension schemes. She was CEO of the BP Pension Scheme in the interesting years of 2007-14 after twenty years with Aon Hewitt working as a pensions consultant and in investment research and innovation.
John Taylor (Chair)
John is an Immediate Past President of IFoA and an External Member of the Bank of England’s Prudential Regulation Committee. He is also Chairperson of the Scottish Financial Risk Academy Group, a collaborative venture between industry and academia on a range of risk topics, including climate and cyber risks. He is particularly interested in technology in financial services and recently helped create a fintech product to deliver financial advice to consumers. He has championed the greater adoption of data science and artificial intelligence by the actuarial profession.
Previously, John held several senior leadership roles in the long-term savings industry. These included: Partner at Hymans Robertson (2014-20), Managing Director at NEST, Customer & Proposition (2013 – 2014), Marketing Director at Lloyds Banking Group (2007 – 2012) and various director roles at Standard Life (1994-2007).
Event organiser
Contact Events Team for more information.
eventmanagement@actuaries.org.uk
0207 632 1498
Live broadcast 17:30 - 19:00