A pension for life, by default: Britain moves to protect 17 million savers from outliving their money

Retirement's quiet fear is arithmetic: what if the money runs out first? Britain's government has opened a 'Guided Retirement' consultation that would make a lifetime income the default for the roughly 17 million private-sector workers saving in modern defined-contribution pensions — guided into an income-for-life option unless they choose otherwise. The need is visible in the numbers: in 2025/26, 46% of people first touching a pension pot simply withdrew it all. New Retirement Collective Pension Schemes would pool risk across savers, the way traditional pensions once did, while keeping everyone's right to choose a different path. The consultation runs to December 22 under the Pension Schemes Act 2026.

SDG 8 · Decent work and economic growth — Mechanism: policy reform