It also will not stop the self-employed falling further behind employed counterparts in pensions terms because they are excluded from auto-enrolment.
Healthy life expectancy
The government also has ambitions to level-up healthy life expectancy, citing a huge 18-year difference here across the country. Staying healthy for longer can have a huge impact on an individual’s physical and mental wellbeing and overall quality of life. It can also flow through into their financial wellbeing. Avoiding ill health can lift a barrier to people, giving the choice to continue in employment longer, which can also make a big difference to their retirement prospects.
Social care
One topic missing from the white paper is social care. The availability, quality and cost of social care also varies across the country, with the ‘postcode lottery’ phrase often used here.
The government may feel its separate plans on social care funding will address this. But I would like to see a formal join up so we can look at as many aspects of levelling up in the round.
Steven Cameron is pensions director at Aegon
