Rachel Vahey: Why pension lifestyle funds are from a bygone era

Days gone by

clock • 3 min read

Now most people approach retirement with the intention of entering drawdown rather than purchasing an annuity, writes Rachel Vahey, lifestyle funds that derisk investment portfolios are not appropriate default options for customers...

The non-workplace pension market is a myriad of different types of pensions and different types of customers. With such variety, it is difficult to come up with solutions that will meet all needs. One part of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) recognises this. In its plans to introduce a new Consumer Duty for FCA-regulated firms, it's moving to a principles-based style of regulation, asking firms to meet the needs of their target customer groups. But its plans for all providers to offer new non-advised savers in a non-workplace pension a default fund seems to go against this direction...

To continue reading this article...

Join Professional Adviser for free

  • Unlimited access to real-time news, industry insights and market intelligence
  • Stay ahead of the curve with spotlights on emerging trends and technologies
  • Receive breaking news stories straight to your inbox in the daily newsletters
  • Make smart business decisions with the latest developments in regulation, investing retirement and protection
  • Members-only access to the editor’s weekly Friday commentary
  • Be the first to hear about our events and awards programmes

Join

 

Already a Professional Adviser member?

Login

More on Pensions

Pension reflections: Retirement's biggest moments of 2025

Pension reflections: Retirement's biggest moments of 2025

What can we expect to see for pensions next year?

Jenna Brown
clock 18 December 2025 • 15 min read
Women, wealth, and worry: How to close the retirement gender gap

Women, wealth, and worry: How to close the retirement gender gap

Julia Peake explores the retirement gender gap and suggests how it can be closed...

Julia Peake
clock 16 December 2025 • 4 min read
Senior pension figures question HMRC's 7.7 million salary sacrifice uptake figure

Senior pension figures question HMRC's 7.7 million salary sacrifice uptake figure

‘It doesn't take much of an error in those figures to have no benefit whatsoever’

Jenna Brown
clock 15 December 2025 • 8 min read