In our ageing society, can we afford retirement?

Recently, Fraser Nelson, Editor of the Spectator, hosted a roundtable lunch in the boardroom at 22 Old Queen Street, in association with Prudential. On the agenda was the question: ‘In our ageing society, can we afford retirement?’

In attendance were Fraser Nelson; Will Heaven, the Spectator’s Managing Editor; Elliott Mears, the company’s Head of Partnerships; and the following guests: Guy Opperman, Minister for Pensions and Financial Inclusion; Matt Cavanagh, Director of Group Government Relations, Prudential; Michelle Cracknell, Chief Executive, The Pensions Advisory Service; Huw Evans, Director General, Association of British Insurers; Tim Fassam, Director of UK Public Affairs, Prudential; Alan Mak MP; Will Sandbrook, Executive Director, NEST Insight; Tim Sharp, Policy Officer at the TUC’s Economic and Social Affairs Department; and Lord Willetts, Chair of the Resolution Foundation. What follows is a summary of the discussion.

Our ageing society is one of the most challenging policy areas of our time. In a way, it’s a good problem to have: the UK is a developed, prosperous nation.