Pension consolidation deserves more respect than it gets

For many clients, pensions are the most valuable asset they will ever own – even including their home. They are also one of the least understood. Decades of job changes, policy reforms and product innovation have left many people with a collection of schemes that reflect the history of the pensions system rather than any deliberate plan. Against that backdrop, it is hardly surprising that pension consolidation is often framed as a sensible clean-up exercise. A way of bringing order to complexity, reducing clutter and making retirement planning feel more manageable. From a distance, it...