Patrick Thomson

New research out today

"Retirement Voice 2025: How an era of uncertainty is affecting our attitudes towards retirement"

We used a new 6k survey of the UK population. I had fun designing the charts! Find out how people feel about finances, work and retirement

www.standardlife.co.uk/centre-for-t...

Good piece in the FT which cites our research from the Standard Life Centre for the Future of Retirement on the demographics of the Industrial Strategy workforce.

And to complete the picture - the politics of who then pays for this. Large birth cohorts are also large voting blocs.

Until 2024* Baby Boomers had never "lost" a general election

(*presumably, haven't seen update of this chart)

Interesting chart from this @stephenkb.bsky.social piece.

Should be viewed alongside the birth-rate chart (see next post).

www.ft.com/content/107a...

And for more analysis that no one is asking for...

Norway would win the knockouts if each match was based on who has the smallest gender pay gap.

Ahead of the Euro 2025 quarterfinals...

How would you feel if the officials added an additional 14 minutes of injury time at the end of the 90?

That's how much longer women in the UK need to achieve pay parity.

In Belgium it's just 1 extra minute

Agree huge diversity in how/when costs increase (health, social care, pensions) but also when economic activity declines

78% of people say they could do their job or one like it by the time they're 60, less than half at 70

Storage Of Grain - Hansard - UK Parliament Hansard record of the item : 'Storage Of Grain' on Tuesday 22 March 1949.

Extraordinary to see the active promotion of silos in previous policy debates
share.google/WO8QhlGx9fMR...

Who do you picture working in the high-growth, high-tech sectors of rhe Industrial Strategy?

These sectors are older than average and all have a higher rates of early retirement.

We estimate this costs economy £31bn - we need to plan for this
www.standardlife.co.uk/centre-for-t...

2 year old who loves nothing more than stickers and rainbows devastated when I come home from work wearing a rainbow sticker that wasn't for her...

Same after eight years. Suddenly feeling like a millionaire. It's like the end of a Squash and a Squeeze

State Pension is an intergenerational contract with real political and societal decisions - someone is paying in and someone is benefiting

It is about redistricting between ages and between those working > those retired

Even for an essentially Universal benefit there are choices in distribution

Policy thinking on a topic like the State Pension helped by clear A/B choices even if cost neutral

Raising the AGE hits lower earners (most rely on it /feel effect of longer wait)

Limiting it's VALUE hit higher earners more (live longer and get more over lifetime)
academic.oup.com/oxrep/articl...

In terms of retirement savings we have a definite group who missed out on DB pensions, and a big chunk of auto enrolment. What's worrying is the number who still think that their retirement will 'turn out ok' because their parent's did

Would be my guess!

Public Service Trusts: a solution to the crisis in local government finances? Demos is Britain’s leading cross-party think-tank. We produce original research, publish innovative thinkers and host thought-provoking events.

According to Demos, across all local authorities, adult and children’s social care combined accounts for 67% of spending demos.co.uk/blogs/public...

£17.25 a week for a third child isn't an amount that would encourage people to have extra children on a whim. But it does make a big difference if you need that money.

Surprising fact to me:
Environmental Taxes in the UK are lower now as % of GDP as any point in the last 25 years

Average household paid less in 2022 than they did in 1999. Not inflation adjusted - in actual £ terms

Taxes raise money but they also shape behaviour

www.ons.gov.uk/economy/envi...

This is an excellent Lords Select Committee session - nominally on the economics of ageing - but opens up all the big topics: ageism, productivity, career change, fertility, social care, and the 'nastiest, hardest problem in finance' @csfoot.bsky.social

parliamentlive.tv/event/index/...

"Mindful Atlantic Crossings for You and Your Crew!", by the captain of the Titanic three quarters of the way through maiden voyage

There's a whole cottage industry of child rearing experts and a never ending market of worried sleep deprived parents.

Stage one: get a bit lucky with how things turned out with no obvious bumps in the road
Stage two: immediately write a cargo cult how to guide outlining your exact steps

Inis is a gem and run by our downstairs neighbour!

So pleased to have Andrew (one of the best brains in the Think Tank land) joining the team at Phoenix Insights.

We've got lots of exciting working in the pipeline and exciting to be tackling some of the big questions of the day www.thephoenixgroup.com/phoenix-insi...

And if education or training is compulsory to 19, and State Pension age very soon to be 67, the fixed idea of 'working age' has less value as a concept

Ha exactly!

We've done it three times always a bit differently. And last time with v generous paternity leave (6 months). For one of them we called it Shared Parental Leave ad it felt easier to describe that way bit in reality I just took a big chunk of unpaid leave as didn't want to come off my wife's

I remember having this exact feeling/conversation when discussing if to take SPL. It becomes such a Zero Sum Game. Hard not to visualise it as one partner taking away precious time with a baby from another.

Luckily have been able to take different forms of leave that have worked really well for all

Had a major anxiety inducing dream the other day that my wife and I had BOTH been elected as MPs without warning

Who is taking the kids to school?
How do we vote in an opposition day motion?
Anyone in the constituency can complain to us about anything!
Parliamentary log in details not working

New research out today looking at the potential economic benefit of better adult careers guidance.

£70bn mismatching between people's skills and their roles

4.5m people who either want to move jobs, are unhappy at work or at risk of automation

www.thephoenixgroup.com/phoenix-insi...