The Thinking Forward podcast brought to you by Standard Life

Bruno Gardner, Head of Climate Change and Nature at Phoenix Group, and Connar McBain, Head of Group Public Affairs at Phoenix Group, join the podcast to explore how to unlock investment to support net zero transition. What role do pension schemes and the Mansion House accord play to enable productive investment? And what opportunities do private markets offer that align to net zero goals?

Alex Murguia, CEO of RISA (Retirement Income Style Awareness), joins us from the US to discuss how the tool supports financial planning for his clients. How can the tool open the floor for a personalised discussion with clients? And how can psychology support advisers to delve deeper and understand their clients?

Rich Mayor, Senior Analyst at the Lang Cat, joins Louise Doherty, Head of Wholesale and Product Marketing at Standard Life, and Mike Ambery, Retirement Savings Director, as they take a fresh dive into our Retirement Voice 2024 data through the perspective of advisers.

The past ten to 15 years has seen significant change in the retirement income advice market as the way people approach retirement has changed. Pete Cowell, Head of Annuities, Individual Retirement Solutions at Standard Life, and Billy Burrows, founder of the Annuity Project and financial adviser, join us to discuss the changes and explore the future of retirement income advice.Visit the Annuity Project > https://www.annuityproject.co.uk/

Dan Haylett, Director at TFP Financial Planning and Claire Altman, MD of Individual Retirement at Standard Life, talk about the more human side of retirement, what will the second half of your clients’ lives really look like? And where will providers, advisers, tech and AI fit in this?Here's the white paper that Claire mentions in the episode: https://library.standardlife.co.uk/CS01338_Thinking_Forward_DC_Policy_White_Paper.pdf

The Mansion House compact marked a significant commitment amongst pension providers and other institutions in the UK towards improving outcomes for savers. Callum Stewart, Head of Investment Proposition at Standard Life, and Sam Murphy, Investment Director at Future Growth Capital joins us to discuss how investment in good quality private asset opportunities could improve retirement outcomes.

The UK pensions industry has historically allocated very little DC pension investment into private markets. Yet when we look to our peers in Australia and Canada this is much higher. What can we learn from our international peers and how can private market investment benefit customers? Michela Bariletti, Chief Credit Officer and Head of Investment Research at Phoenix Group joins us to discuss.

2024 was hailed the year of the election, but what will the results mean for the economic outlook? And what trends can we anticipate for 2025? Find out in our discussion with Anthony O'Brien, Head of Market Strategy at Phoenix Group.

Pensions dashboards should boost people's engagement with retirement savings. But a lot will depend on how you can access the data. And we might end up with more of them than we expect, say Sam Seaton, CEO at MoneyHub, and Matt Burrell, Senior Public Affairs Manager at Phoenix Group.

Making decisions about retirement income is tough. The stakes are high, the options plentiful – yet people often receive little or no help. So how can we change this situation? Find out in our discussion with Claire Altman, Managing Director, Individual Retirement at Standard Life, and Matt Burrell, Senior Public Affairs Manager at Phoenix Group.

Guy Opperman, former UK pensions minister, and Nick Sherry, former Australia pensions minister, discuss adequacy, Value for Money, Mansion House, trustee responsibilities – and a few broken bones along the way.

How can the pensions industry ensure people get the right guidance and advice when they retire? And are the right products available to provide both certainty and flexibility – and ultimately provide better outcomes? Find out in our discussion with Claire Altman, Managing Director, Individual Retirement at Standard Life.

In Australia they don't suffer from small pots and employees have more say over the choice of pension fund. But not everything about their system is rosy. Find out more in our discussion with John Greenwood, Editor at Corporate Adviser, and Paul Leandro, Partner at Barnett Waddingham.

Does the UK's Value for Money framework lack teeth? If so, what might we learn from Australia's more penal performance test? Find out in our discussion with John Greenwood, Editor at Corporate Adviser, and Paul Leandro, Partner at Barnett Waddingham.

In Australia, illiquid investments are more common and average pension returns are higher. So what does this indicate about the likely success of Mansion House and the UK's investment aspirations? Find out in our discussion with John Greenwood, Editor at Corporate Adviser, and Paul Leandro, Partner at Barnett Waddingham.

When it comes to retirement income, how does the UK compare to other markets? Is it a global problem? And what are the short- and long-term solutions? Find out in our discussion with John Greenwood, Editor at Corporate Adviser, and Paul Leandro, Partner at Barnett Waddingham.

This year national elections are being held in at least 64 countries – representing around half of the world’s population, and over 60% of global economic output. To understand what this could mean for pensions and investments, we speak to Anthony O'Brien, Head of Market Strategy at Phoenix Group.

What’s changed economically since the general election? How do overseas investors perceive the UK? And what pension reforms would we like to see in October’s Budget? Find out in our discussion with Anthony O’Brien, Head of Market Strategy at Phoenix Group.

We chatted to David John, US pensions and retirement expert, about emergency savings, spending behaviours during retirement, and why some retirees really return to work.

We chat about Biden vs. Trump, ESG, pension reform and financial planning with David John, US pensions and retirement expert.

Two leading experts on pension reform (Susan St John, Honorary Associate Professor, and Claire Dale, Research Fellow, both from the University of Auckland) discuss the merits of allowing pension withdrawals for home ownership, member engagement and financial education – and whether you really need tax incentives to encourage people to save for retirement.

Financial wellness has been a hot topic in recent years, but what does it actually mean? And how can employers be sure the support they provide to employees really makes a difference? The key lies in understanding people’s individual needs, says Blake Allison, founder and CEO at financial wellbeing consultancy LifeCents.

Are we facing another lost decade in living standards? And, if so, what might this mean for interest rates, mortgage repayments and the labour market – and when might the UK return to economic growth? Find out in our discussion with Paul Johnson, Director at the Institute for Fiscal Studies.

Sangita Chawla, Chief Marketing Officer at Standard Life, talked with Paul Johnson, Director at the Institute for Fiscal Studies, to discuss the recently launched Pensions Review report, insufficient pension contributions, the State Pension age – and why the UK pension system needs a review.

We speak to two world-leading experts on pension dashboards – from Sweden and Denmark – to understand how pension dashboards in the UK might affect engagement, and the importance of good data, robust controls, inclusivity, adopting a test-and-learn approach and managing expectations.

Sangita Chawla, CMO of Standard Life, speaks to Paul Johnson, CBE, Director at the Institute for Fiscal Studies, about shrinking household incomes, rising taxes, economic inactivity, possible public sector strikes and the challenges faced by younger people.

In this episode, we discuss Australia’s pension system with the Honourable Nick Sherry, former Australian Minister for Superannuation and Senator for Tasmania. Covering its recent consolidation of funds, investment in infrastructure, and whether pension funds can play a larger role in social housing and supporting home ownership.