DC pensions are “not necessarily fit for purpose” in retirement, Retirement Income chairman Jeremy Cooper has said.

Speaking at the Society of Pension Professionals annual conference in London on Monday 19 September, Cooper voiced the idea that DC pension schemes are not entirely well set up for retirement. While discussing both UK and Australian pensions, he suggested that DC pensions are not enough as a standalone product for a comfortable retirement.

Cooper agreed that the proposed Pensions Advice Allowance will enable members to better understand the need for additional savings, with the provision of genuine retirement-oriented financial advice.

Furthermore, he noted that now the pensions system is more stable, the question is, “how do we make people look for more sustainable retirement income solutions”. In reference to Australia’s pension market, and equally applicable to the UK, Cooper claimed that this is “currently our big policy challenge”.

Adding to his discussion on achieving adequate income at retirement, Cooper noted that total pensions should be considered on a household basis rather than at an individual level.

“We tend to look at pensions in terms of individuals and individual funds, but typically there’s a pooling going on in typical households where resources are shared.

“The male will have a better pension than the female […] and I’m surprised how many pieces of research, how many hours have been spent focusing on individual pots and not on household wealth, the collective pool of pensions.”

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