Financial literacy could avoid DB 'armageddon'

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Financial education, particularly in the workplace, is the only way to avoid a defined benefit scheme "financial Armageddon", warns Alan Pickering.

Speaking at a Pensions Management Institute (PMI) technical seminar on ‘The Life Cycle of a Closed DB Scheme’ Pickering warns that closing existing schemes should not be regarded as “job done”. Pickering, chairman of the financial education charity Life Academy and a senior consultant at Watson Wyatt, argues future retirement processes will change as people start opting in and out of work the older they grow, rather than adopting the “cliff edge” approach - where people just stop working at age 60 or 65. That said, he warns this process and change in attitude will only work if there is...

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