For a long time it seems pensions has been a much favoured political football. And with the general election campaign in full swing, we will probably see more of this 'moving of the goalposts' activity

The trouble with electioneering and policies designed with a short-term goal in mind, such as to 'win the female vote', is they don't take account of the bigger picture.

Pensions is, as I am sure you would all agree, one issue which requires a macro approach. When thinking about pensions, we need to think long-term.

Sadly, this is not something modern politicians specialise in and consequently the pensions industry has been presented with a plethora of short-sighted policies executed by a quick succession of ministers - none of whom have hung around for long enough to make any real impact.

Long-term strategy
This current state of play cannot continue and any political party looking to win the hearts and minds of those in the pensions industry needs to put an end to piece-meal pension policy. A newly elected government has to take the bull by the horns and commit to a long-term and strategic approach to achieving public confidence in saving and do it quickly.

Now more than ever, there is a desperate need to not only tackle the savings crisis in the UK but also empower people to take control of their own savings.

Despite the British Bankers Association (BBA) stating that the number of people without access to a bank account halved from 3.57 million in 2003/04 to 1.75 million in 2007/08, the scale of the problem is clear to see.

Public policy has to start with giving people the freedom and confidence to become financially self reliant.

So how do we offer incentives for those people who do the right thing in terms of self-reliance in a bid to avoid poverty in old age? How can we prevent the savings problems of the past and encourage positive patterns in the future? No tall orders for any new government stepping into the breach, but these are exactly the sorts of questions we need to pose.

We need a blueprint for pensions that aims for less regulation and more simplification. I would suggest we also need to be guided by the experts and let them advise government on policy. This brings me neatly to my second point that, as part of taking the long-term view, we need to take politics out of pensions and start to use evidence-based policy making.

The right environment
I would suggest the next government can help build greater certainty by providing an environment that allows individuals the ability to save and access their savings in a way that meets their needs and demonstrates a culture of freedom.

This can be done by firstly allowing tax free cash sums from pensions to be taken (or similarly loans to be taken out against this) in situations of genuine hardship, and not making people wait until 55.

Secondly, abolishing compulsory annuity purchases at age 75, subject to requiring individuals to have a minimum guaranteed income in retirement at a level that excludes them from means-tested benefits, would be a move in the right direction.

Thirdly, committing to the principles of pensions simplification would enable individuals to save with the confidence that they know how their benefits will be taxed when they reach retirement.

Now I know that my wish list for the new government might look like a long one, but in actual fact the points I have suggested are pretty straightforward and some of them could be implemented with great speed and ease. Others of course may take a few months for any new government.

But collectively, they will - I believe - make a profound and positive difference to the pensions and savings outcomes of the UK population.

And more to the point, they will deliver the confidence and freedom for people to make the most of their working lives and their retirement.

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