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Private Pension Planning: The Rhetoric of Responsibility, The Reality of Insecurity

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 November 2002

KAREN ROWLINGSON
KAREN ROWLINGSON
Affiliation:
Lecturer in Social Research, Department of Social and Policy Sciences, University of Bath, Claverton Down, Bath, BA2 7AY.
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Abstract

Over the last twenty years, policy-makers have placed increasing emphasis on individual planning, particularly in relation to pensions. Planning for one's own future, and that of one's family, is increasingly upheld as a morally responsible activity. This article explores the assumptions made by policy-makers in this area. It begins with a discussion of how the rhetoric from policy-makers and policy-commentators makes considerable reference to individual planning and responsibility. The policies themselves, however, sometimes act as disincentives to make private provision and do relatively little to provide security for people's future retirement. The article then draws on empirical research including recent qualitative findings to emphasise the limited nature of private pension planning and the constraints people face in relation to this activity.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Social Policy , Volume 31 , Issue 4 , October 2002 , pp. 623 - 642
Copyright
© 2002 Cambridge University Press

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Footnotes

I would like to thank the Joseph Rowntree Foundation for supporting the research on which this article is based. I would also like to thank Professor Janet Ford and two anonymous referees for their comments on an earlier draft of this article. The points made and views expressed in this article are, however, the author's own.