The revival of the so-called Pension Commission has been welcomed by the usual suspects—industry insiders, policy heads, and providers all salivating at the prospect of more money flowing into their coffers under the guise of “solving” the pension crisis.
But let’s be clear: it shouldn’t be called the Pension Commission at all.
Why? Because it ignores the elephant in the room—the one readers, not experts, are smart enough to spot: the future isn’t funded by financial capital alone. It’s powered by human capital.
The pension problem isn’t about how to extract more from people’s paycheques. It’s about how to stop wasting lives. The 20th-century model of life—education, work, retirement—is obsolete. As one FT Adviser reader aptly put it, that model “started to fall apart at least 25 years ago.”
A healthy 60–70-year-old in 2050 won’t be dreaming of retirement—they’ll be in their third or fourth career phase, likely weaving purpose, sabbaticals, and self-reinvention into a dynamic life portfolio.
And yet, what’s the Commission’s solution? Raise contribution rates. Expand auto-enrolment. Funnel more into pensions earlier, longer, and faster—without even questioning whether the end goal remains valid. This is the classic playbook of the financial capital system: get the public to empty their pockets sooner, and more often, to prop up an industry model built on extraction.
But the public isn’t blind anymore. The Age of Pisces—where you delegate control to intermediaries and hope for the best—is ending. We’re entering the Age of Aquarius, where people are empowered, not infantilised.
Here’s what real reform looks like:
- Recognise Human Capital as the primary engine of later-life security—not just accumulated savings.
- Ditch the Retirement Myth and design systems that support lifelong purpose, contribution, and fluid career transitions.
- Stop Moving the Goalposts: People have lost trust because pension rules are changed at the whim of Chancellors chasing short-term savings.
- Enable Empowerment Over Extraction: Give people tools to plan their own lives, not just products to buy.
As one reader said, “This commission will simply approach the problem on the same basis that created it.” That’s the very definition of madness.
It’s time for boldness, yes. But not the kind that means more of the same, just faster. We need boldness that questions the very frame: why are we still asking people to retire at all?
This isn’t a pensions crisis. It’s a paradigm crisis.
And readers are already ahead of the experts.
🔄 UPDATE: Same Commission, Same Blindness—Where’s Project Bloom?
Since publishing this piece, more details have emerged about the so-called “revival” of the Pensions Commission. According to the government, today’s retirees in 2050 could be £800 worse off per year than their predecessors, and 15 million people are under-saving. Nearly half of working-age adults are saving nothing at all. For the self-employed, ethnic minorities, and low earners, the outlook is particularly bleak.
So the government’s answer? Revive the same structure that led to auto-enrolment and ask it to “go further.” But nothing in this latest initiative addresses the deep-seated causes of mistrust, especially among those who’ve been mis-sold, defrauded, or systematically excluded.
You cannot rebuild confidence in the pension system without first confronting the crimes and cover-ups that destroyed it.
Where is the conversation about Project Bloom?
Launched in 2012 to tackle pension scams, Project Bloom brought together agencies like the FCA, HMRC, The Pensions Regulator, and the Serious Fraud Office. But crucially, HMRC—central to detecting and prosecuting QROPS abuse—walked away. Why? No public explanation has been given, despite overwhelming evidence of laundering, regulatory failure, and consumer harm.
A 2021 parliamentary session confirmed that Project Bloom was still “live”—yet not a single meaningful prosecution has followed. Billions have vanished through scams tied to HMRC-recognised QROPS, yet the new Commission remains silent on this elephant in the room.
If the government is serious about rebuilding trust, the first step is not increasing contribution rates. It’s reactivating Project Bloom with teeth—and political will.
Truth must come before trust.
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