Tabby cat relaxing on a fluffy blanket

and here is Patches solo

Woman smiling at camera with tabby cat sitting on her, staring into the camera

Catherine and Patches

🚨NEW SPEAKERS🚨

We’re delighted an expert panel will be joining us to talk about the pension shock facing Gen X

@theobertram.bsky.social
@csfoot.bsky.social
Zoe Alexander
@gideonsalutin.bsky.social
Baroness Kramer

RSVP here:

buff.ly/RsIwA31

Kindly sponsored by Standard Life

Is British politics just ungovernable? Podcast Episode · The News Agents · 30/01/2026 · 47m

To take the long view on this week’s madness, recommend listening to this conversation b/t @lewisgoodall.com and political historian David Runciman. Doesn’t cheer you up, but does help you understand (possible tagline for the @newsagents.bsky.social generally) podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/t...

Decisions in the dark: How the DC pioneer generation are navigating retirement income decisions Retirement in the UK is changing. The shift from Defined Benefit (DB) to Defined Contribution (DC) pensions, combined with pension freedoms, longer working lives and a rising state pension age, means ...

New research from us at the Standard Life Centre for the Future of Retirement:

"Decisions in the dark: How the DC pioneer generation are navigating retirement income decisions"

Report explores the psychology and emotions of accessing DC pension pots.

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

Jam tomorrow? Work, finances and retirement in an era of a rising State Pension age As the State Pension age rises to 67, we think the government needs to put in place policies to ensure that as many people as possible have financial security throughout their 60s and beyond.

New report out today

"Jam tomorrow? Work, finances and retirement in an era of a rising State Pension age"

Higher State Pension age has led to higher employment among people in their 60s.

But there are 250k more people in pre-retirement poverty than in 2010

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

The Good Old Days   Pity the poor children of today, with their calendars stuffed with chocolates,   never to know the thrill of opening a small cardboard door and discovering behind it   a picture of a bell. Brian Bilston

This poem is dedicated to anyone making a start on their advent calendar today.

The Welsh town that saw off Nigel Farage | Anywhere but Westminster YouTube video by The Guardian

Why are people in Caerphilly more articulate than the political class at highlighting the issues facing people?

Such a phenomenal snapshot of where we are - a microcosm of the factors we’re fighting as a society 🧵

Cracking stuff from @johnharris1969.bsky.social

youtu.be/N79jV1waf4g?...

How can we support better, longer careers in the context of a rising State Pension age?

Come and discuss this with us at our event in London on 13 November with our speakers @csfoot.bsky.social, @naomiclayton.bsky.social, Sarah Ellis and Dr Suzy Morrissey:

events.standardlife.co.uk/ExtendingThe...

How can we support better, longer careers in the context of a rising State Pension age?

Come and discuss this with us at our event in London on 13 November with our speakers @csfoot.bsky.social, @naomiclayton.bsky.social, Sarah Ellis and Dr Suzy Morrissey:

events.standardlife.co.uk/ExtendingThe...

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...

A Pensions System Fit For the 21st Century: The stories behind pension gaps What does the ideal pension system look like in the 21st century?

Very much looking forward to this today: www.ipsos.com/en-uk/pensio...

To all who think capitalism can drive progressive change, it won’t – and here’s the shocking proof | Polly Toynbee Asset manager Aberdeen’s surprise cut to funding research into inequality has left those that used its grants for good work reeling, says Guardian columnist Polly Toynbee

Such short-sighted behaviour here www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Standard Life Centre for the future of retirement We’re a think tank with a bold ambition to help everyone achieve long-term financial security

If you’re interested in the future of retirement - sufficient occupational pensions, decent employment, sustainable state pension, that sort of thing - the work of my rebranded think tank might be of interest: www.standardlife.co.uk/centre-for-t...

Charts showing data on employment rates over 50 from the last 50 years

It is a great piece. This is the brilliant set of charts I always go back to in conversations about our trend towards working longer, from Jonathan Cribb of @theifs.bsky.social. The length of our working lives over the last 50 years has not grown steadily, and it’s hugely gendered.

When is 'old' nowadays? Denmark is the first country in Europe in modern times to decide to increase its state pension age to 70. If the age we get 'old' keeps increasing, we will be able to keep working longer?

open.substack.com/pub/catherin...

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/...

If she’s considering a shift in career there are some great organisations like Brave Starts and CareerShifters who I would highly recommend: www.careershifters.org and www.bravestarts.com

Focus on the causes, not the symptoms The forthcoming disability benefits green paper could exemplify a new approach to welfare — instead it is likely to apply the same old…

This is the best thing I've read on the debate around disability & incapacity benefits

Clearly sets out the reality of the current system, the challenges it faces, and what might actually help address them

Brilliant work from Citizens Advice's
@craigpberry.bsky.social medium.com/@craig.berry...

Who's helping you work out what you want to be when you grow up? The hidden power of adult careers guidance to boost economic growth

New post from me on Substack arguing that it's high time for adult careers guidance services to be part of the solution to economic growth. open.substack.com/pub/catherin...

Work in Progress: Unlocking the value of adult careers guidance The careers landscape is changing

Our new report out today makes the case for a secret weapon in efforts to get more people into good jobs and boost economic growth: adult careers guidance services. www.thephoenixgroup.com/phoenix-insi...

How to defeat populism Spoiler alert: it won't be easy

One of the clearest pieces on this I read so far. open.substack.com/pub/kellnerp...

There’s been some great stuff this week on the “what is Labour’s approach to growth” question.
You’ve probably read or ignored it all by now, but worth a quick recap?

Promising if temporally vague news that DWP Minister Baroness Maeve Sherlock said in the Lords yesterday “we are committed to a second phase focused on retirement adequacy, of which we will provide further details in due course”. Can almost hear Nigel Hawthorne adding “in the fullness of time…”

Sandy you can reach me on phoenixinsights[at]thephoenixgroup[dot]com

A roadmap to adequate retirement incomes for all We recommend five priority areas to be included in the government’s review of retirement outcomes.

We published a roadmap for how to approach this promised review here: www.thephoenixgroup.com/phoenix-insi... We’ll keep it warm while we wait for when Gvt are ready…

Following through on a commitment for a review to plan and commit to a timetable for incremental change is hardly kicking business when it’s down today. I know the Government must see that, so I continue to hope that progress proves possible soon.

Clearly there are valid concerns about increasing costs to business. But at the very least that surely needn’t postpone some independent analysis and consensus-building on how & when to incrementally start to address what will be a serious problem for individuals and the state in the years to come.

Bar chart showing peak of UK pensions adequacy crisis coming in years 2040-2044

Our own analysis suggests this problem will peak in the early 2040s. www.thephoenixgroup.com/media/sjodud...

Analysis of future pension incomes

For those not familiar with the issue, this review matters because it has been clear for some time that future generations of retirees look in very large numbers to be set for inadequate pension pots. www.gov.uk/government/s...