Report: Hitting the target

The Hitting the Target project was set up by the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA) in early 2017. The purpose was to assess the success of current UK policy and practices with regard to helping everyone achieve adequate outcomes in retirement, taking account of the range of assets which might be used to finance retirement, and to make proposals on how policy and practices should be changed in order to improve outcomes. 

Following a consultation, the PLSA has published its final recommendations in its report A Vision for Retirement Income Adequacy. The document argues that both the government and the pensions sector must do more to ensure everyone has an adequate income in retirement. The PLSA has set out a programme of reform focusing on seven main areas:

• Widely Used Retirement Income Targets
• Adequate Pension Contributions
• Well Governed Schemes
• Guided ‘At Retirement’ Decisions
• Accessible Housing Wealth
• Easy to Work in Later Life
• Effective Engagement.

The report concludes that its recommendations provide the groundwork for a new retirement settlement that will enable savers to feel secure in the knowledge that they will have adequate savings to meet the costs of later life.