PMI DC and Master Trust Symposium 2025: Reflections from the Day

Another great event from the PMI. The venue was spot on, the topics were bang on the money, and, as always, the best part was the conversations — insightful, challenging, and, frankly, energising.

So, what did I take away from the day?

Well, one thing that really stood out to me is just how many Gen X savers are DC-only — far more than I think many of us had clocked. And if we’re being honest, we’re not engaging this group anywhere near fast enough.

That’s a problem. Because here’s the reality:

People get savings. They understand cash.

• But they don’t understand pensions. And if they don’t understand something, they don’t engage with it — that old saying “don’t invest in what you don’t understand” still holds true.
• They also don’t trust financial services — and who can blame them? Maxwell, Lehmans, the banking crisis, scams — it’s been a rough ride.
• And they don’t trust Government, especially when pension rules seem to change with the seasons.

The result? Too many people, when they hit the ‘at retirement’ point, are pulling their DC funds out and sticking them into cash or savings accounts. It’s safe, it’s familiar, and they feel in control.

But the flip side is — they’re potentially missing out. Not because they’re reckless, but because we haven’t made the industry feel like something they can understand or trust.

Let’s be honest — pensions communications aren’t helping. They’re often written to meet compliance rules, packed with warnings and caveats, but rarely deliver anything that genuinely helps people make decisions. Risk warnings might be well-intentioned, but when there are too many, they stop being helpful and start becoming noise.

So, what do we do?

I think we need to reframe the way we talk about pensions altogether.

Maybe it’s time to retire the word “retirement.” Maybe we should pension off the word “pension.” Seriously. What if we just called it a savings plan?

People understand savings. They relate to it. They already engage with savings goals and financial planning. What if DC was presented not as some mysterious complex pension, but as a component part of a long-term savings journey, with real-time tools and models that helped them plan for their future in a way that made sense — today, tomorrow, and ten years from now?

Imagine being able to show people their full financial picture — mortgage, debt, savings, pensions — all in one place, with open architecture that fits into their real life. That kind of visibility could help build trust. It could drive genuine engagement.

As for building trust in the Government… well, as I’ve always said:

The impossible I can do — miracles just take a little longer.