PPI - UK Pensions Framework It's the Pension Policy Institute's's 20th birthday this year and it has marked that achievement with the creation of a new pension framework. This is how the PPI publicises it. Purpose The PPI’s UK Pensions Framework aims to support the development of the future of pensions policy by allowing stakeholders a coordinated and holistic view of changes across the system for the first time. The Framework also goes beyond a one-dimensional view of changes by showing how policy reforms are affecting key parties, what secondary effects may occur and where trade-offs might exist. Measures - adequacy, sustainability and fairness The framework analysis is structured around three interdependent objectives, each of which is integral to the overall goal of the pension system - helping people to achieve financial security in later life. They are adequacy, sustainability and fairness. Design Principles This publication sets out the design principles of the framework and the process by which it was constructed. The process included consultation with over 70 key pensions policy stakeholders. Next year, the PPI will publish the first edition of the UK Pensions Framework, setting out full analysis of how the UK pension system is working to support retirement outcomes that are adequate, sustainable and fair. Use From thereon, the framework will be a dynamic instrument, tracking changes each year and simulating the effect of potential shifts or reforms on the system. The analysis will provide policy-makers a comprehensive understanding of how each potential change might affect other elements of the system, and ultimately the experiences that people in the UK have in later life.” There is a detailed report as to how their Pension Franework came into being which you can download from here. I'm proud to have been one of 70 people who the PPI called on for input in this over 2021, I look forward to seeing it in use next year and will be relying on it for future blogs. Happy 20th anniversary PPI!

1. The UK Pensions Framework
Design Series
In association with Aviva

2. PPI
PENSIONS POLICY INSTITUTE
Today’s Showcase Event
2
This showcase event is to launch the Design Series for the PPI’s
UK Pensions Framework

3. Anna Brain,
Research Associate
Pensions Policy Institute
(PPI)
Key Findings
Twitter: #PPIPensionsFramework @PPI_Research

4. PPI
PENSIONS POLICY INSTITUTE
Introduction
4
• Background
• Structure & Design
• Content
• Case Study
• What Next?

5. PPI
PENSIONS POLICY INSTITUTE
Background
5
 What is missing from existing analysis of the UK Pension System?
• A single resource, tailored to the UK, that brings together information on factors that affect the
performance of the pension system and provision of financial security in retirement
• An integrated overview of issues, interdependencies and intersectional analysis
 What is the UK Pensions Framework?
• An analytical instrument designed to provide a long-term overview of changes in the UK pension
system and how it is evolving over time
• Provides a range of indicators for tracking and comparing trends, patterns, risks, behaviours and
outcomes in different population groups over time
• Scope includes State and private pensions, as well as key non-pension considerations

6. PPI
PENSIONS POLICY INSTITUTE
How can the Framework support
pensions policy?
6
Develop picture of high-level strengths, weaknesses, risks and issues in
the system, support coordinated policy consensus and design, and
contribute to better outcomes in later life
1. Bring together the
impacts of change
from across the
system
2. Examine impacts
from the perspective
of different actors
3. Track change over
time or simulate the
effect of potential
change on the system

7. PPI
PENSIONS POLICY INSTITUTE
Design & Structure
7
What are the design principles? How is the framework structured?
Measures tangible
outcomes to support
decision-making
Provides consistent and
comparable output
Does not seek to define
the ideal pension system

8. PPI
PENSIONS POLICY INSTITUTE
Adequacy Content
8
Adequacy Indicators
•Labour Markets:
• Employment Rates
• Income and Earnings
• State Support:
• State Pensions
• Means-Tested Benefits
• Private Pension Saving:
• Coverage and Contributions
• Investments and Assets
• Tax Relief
• Non-pension Wealth:
• Non-Pension Savings and Inheritance
• Home Ownership
• Retirement Living Costs:
• Expenditure and Debt
• Social Care and Housing Costs
• Retirement Outcomes:
• Transitions and Decumulation
• Poverty
• Income and Living Standards
Adequacy: A clear and reliable system which enables people to plan for
a retirement that provides them protection against poverty, some
financial resilience, and the ability to maintain living standards from
working into later life.
1. A minimally acceptable level of income and protection against
deprivation
2. The income necessary to provide continuity of living standards
3. The financial resilience to withstand short-term financial shocks

9. PPI
PENSIONS POLICY INSTITUTE
Sustainability Content
9
Sustainability Indicators
• Population and Ageing:
• Population Ageing
• Family Arrangements
• Health & Social Care
• Financial Sustainability:
• Macroeconomic Indicators
• Pension Age & Access
• Employer Sustainability
• Scheme Sustainability
• Fiscal Sustainability
• ESG
• System Design:
• Regulation
• Political Sustainability
• Complexity
• Innovation and Reforms
• Data Adequacy
Sustainability: A system which is able to meet the needs of the present
without compromising the ability of other people, stakeholders or
generations to meet their own needs
1. Refers to the way in which risks that could compromise
affordability, stability, efficiency and integrity are managed
2. Complex series of interactions typically result in trade-offs with
adequacy objectives
3. Includes measures related to financially material implications of
ESG in first edition, with possibility to extend to measures relating
to wider sustainability goals in the future

10. PPI
PENSIONS POLICY INSTITUTE
Fairness Content
10
Fairness Indicators
Process Fairness:
• Inclusion
• Engagement
• Choice & Defaults
Outcome Fairness:
• Differences between population
groups
• Differences between individuals
Protecting Consumers:
• Value for Money
• Pension Scams
• DB Transfers
Fairness: An inclusive system which engenders trust, provides fair
benefits for all, protects people from risk in retirement and upholds the
commitments that are made within and between generations.
1. Fairness is a balancing factor between competing objectives of
adequacy and sustainability, which often require that costs and
benefits can be distributed unevenly among different groups
2. Does not refer to equality in how costs and benefits are distributed.
Derived from principles of equality of opportunity and equality of
outcome
3. Means different things to different people, but those who believe
they are treated fairly will have greater confidence in the system

11. PPI
PENSIONS POLICY INSTITUTE
11

12. PPI
PENSIONS POLICY INSTITUTE
12
Case Study: Part 1
The case study is designed to simulate the potential
effects of policy recommendations from the 2017
Automatic Enrolment Review.
A 2022 illustrative baseline analysis figure suggests
that improvements in important measures of
economic sustainability have somewhat
compromised adequacy in recent years, resulting in
uneven distribution of trade-offs across population
groups and an increasingly complex system.

13. PPI
PENSIONS POLICY INSTITUTE
13
Case Study: Part 2
Simulated effects of the impact on framework
indicators of proposals to remove the automatic
enrolment LEL for contributions and qualifying age
criteria.
An illustrative policy simulation suggests that removing
the LEL and age qualifying criteria for automatic
enrolment would likely contribute to improved
adequacy, with the greatest benefits being seen amongst
the most vulnerable groups. However, it would come at
a cost to economic sustainability on account of
implications for the State and employers.

14. PPI
PENSIONS POLICY INSTITUTE
14
Case Study: Part 3
Simulated effects of the impact on the UK pension
system of proposals to remove the automatic enrolment
LEL and qualifying age criteria.
Compared to the 2022 illustrative baseline analysis chart,
automatic enrolment reforms could be expected to
produce outcomes that favour improved adequacy in the
UK pension system but place downward pressure on
employers and fiscal sustainability in the short to
medium term.

15. PPI
PENSIONS POLICY INSTITUTE
What next?
15
• How are changes reshaping overall concepts and design
of the pension system?
• Where might policies lead to unintended consequences
or trade-offs in years ahead?
• How could the framework help with your work?
• What kind of questions could it answer to support
policy debate and improve retirement outcomes?

16. Q&A Session…
Professor Nicholas Barr FRSA Baroness Jeannie Drake CBE Andy Seed
Sir Steve Webb
Anna Brain
Pete Searle
Please observe the Chatham House Rule

17. Thank you to our speakers, Chair and the
sponsors for this report
Thank you for attending today
You should have received a copy of the report, if you have not please contact
Danielle Baker.
Please also share the link to this report on the PPI’s Twitter and LinkedIn pages