STEVE WEBB: Lessons This is Money readers might train the Government

I think it should be compulsory for every Pensions Minister to read through my This is Money inbox every week to get a better understanding of the aspects of the pension system which confuse, anger and frustrate people.

The messages I receive from readers give me a great insight into what is on the mind of the public when it comes to pensions, as I explained in my ‘behind the scenes’ look at how I write my column.

In the last eight years of answering reader questions I’ve seen some topics come and go but many which feature week in, week out.

From these I’ve come up with an ‘agenda for change’ for government and the pensions industry which would, in my view, make for a better system.

Here are the four things I wish they would strive to do for people.

Organise the system around the person, and not the other way round

All too often, big bureaucracies force people to jump through hoops rather than have a single point of contact who can take ownership and resolve your problem.

The classic example of this is where someone has an error on their National Insurance record – perhaps missing credits for time at home with children.

First you are in a queue with HMRC to get credits added to your account. Then you have to wait for someone at DWP to get round to updating your pension, possibly months later.

Why couldn’t one person do the whole thing in one go?

Keep it simple

Every piece of communication on pensions should be tested on people who don’t ‘speak the jargon’ of pensions.

Sometimes readers send me paperwork that they have received which I struggle to understand, so I have no idea how a lay person with a busy life is meant to make sense of it.

This applies equally to the Government as to the pensions industry.

Improve customer service

This may seem obvious, but just getting the basics right would hugely improve the experience of the public when dealing with the industry or government departments.

This includes things like the following.

– If a call back or a letter is promised, make sure someone knows the promise has been made and delivers on it.

– Keep people informed. Most people would be prepared to wait if they knew something was happening.

What drives them mad is when their letters and messages just go ‘into the void’ and they don’t know if anyone is actually progressing it or not.

– Make sure that frontline staff are properly trained. Too often, problems arise because people are given inaccurate information on the phone, and this could be avoided if being a frontline call handler was actually given the respect – and the pay – that it deserves

Don’t keep changing things

A lot of my post (especially at the moment) comes when people are fearful about how the system may change in future or when they are trying to understand a new system.

Whilst there are always aspects of the system that need reform, pensions should be a long-term business.

Although a new Government will inevitably want to do things differently, some sense of a long-term vision which they then stick to, would provide some welcome stability.

To sum up, I believe the basic idea of a pension – setting some money aside now so that you have something for later – should not be as difficult as it is.

Only when Government and pension providers start with the individual and work out from there will we have a pension system that is fit for purpose.