MORE PENSIONS MIS‐SELLING AHEAD: BY GOVERNMENT OF COURSE 1

Not only was the infamous Pensions Mis‐selling episode of the 1990s caused directly by government legislation; government has continually mis‐sold on an enormous scale its own pension creations, the state pension schemes. The history of state pensions is a history of broken promises, yet today's pension establishment welcomes the Pension Commission's recommendation for a higher state pension. With this mindset it is hardly surprising that similar approval is given to the Commission's other main recommendation – a National Pensions Saving Scheme, which has all the hallmarks of a fiasco in the making. Furthermore to the extent there is a savings crisis, government is a clear culprit, regularly resorting to low interest rates and the printing press to favour borrowing and not saving. Nor is it surprising that government itself will retain its gold‐plated pension arrangements and in all likelihood will be exempt from these proposals.