Now the dust is beginning to settle on the election, Labour has to turn to the serious work of implementing its manifesto promises.

Pensions are a key part of Labour's pledges and it has promised a major review of the pensions landscape. This is a wise idea.

There is, indeed much to review. An unfinished scrapping of the lifetime allowance, a Pensions Dashboard initiative stuck in the mud and general concern about the direction of pension taxation.

Labour’s manifesto (PDF version) runs to 136 pages. I suspect many pension experts have been re-reading it today trying to guess what Labour will do first. Good luck because it is short on detail.

Before new Chancellor Rachel Reeves gets down to work on her first Budget and the details of Labour's pension plans I thought I would launch my own manifesto, admittedly a bit late but better late than never. You might just agree with some of it.

Unlike the hefty Labour manifesto it contains just 5 simple proposals. I can’t promise any or all of these will be implemented but you never know, someone might be listening.

• Pensions Taxation: Freeze tax reliefs and allowances where they are now and avoid treating pensions like a pot of cash for the Treasury to dip into by, for example, curtailing pension reliefs or upping taxes on pensions. In other words ring fence pensions and treat them long term as what they should be, carefully-nurtured pots of cash which everyone who retires will need to live on for the rest of their lives. They are the difference between poverty and comfort in retirement.

• Make Auto-enrolment compulsory. Auto-enrolment, much to everyone’s surprise, has been a big success with nearly 11m participants. Build on this by making it compulsory (no excuses for ducking out). Extend it to everyone in work over the age of 16, people in virtually any paid income and, ultimately, the self employed. Make it the default pension scheme for the UK, the first building block of people’s pensions. All in unless you have something better.

• SIPPs and SSAS: These have also been a big success but have also come with problems. Millions have them but the scammers have used them all too readily. Build protections on these to tackle the scammers who have used them for rogue pension transfers and the like. Also accept that they are popular and make them better understood and easier to access. They should not be the preserve of just the high earners.

• Pensions Dashboards: This proposal is a mess and needs sorting out. Either put more resources into making it work or kill off the plan now before it becomes a disaster. There could well be simpler alternatives, such as getting all pension providers to send an annual, templated statement to all pension clients twice a year with a firm prediction of pension income at retirement.

• Pension Freedoms: These have opened up a whole raft of benefits but also problems. Pensions have, in some cases, been too easy to access early. Review the freedoms but maintain their integrity. Trying to cut back on people’s Pension Freedoms (one suggestion) will not be popular and will risk a divided generation of people, some of whom have enjoyed the Freedoms and some who will be unable to use them. Pledge to keep the Freedoms.

These are just a few ideas and, to be honest, are not part of anyone’s policy but they are some ideas to make pensions the central part of people’s long term saving. Pensions should be a straight forward saving plan for the masses but they remain too confusing, too complex and poor value in many cases.

With its large majority Labour has a mandate to drive through reform but it must take care with pensions to maintain confidence. I would also like to see it reach out to the other parties and the wealth of pension experts we have in the UK to tap the wisdom available and build a national pensions consensus on the way ahead. This has often been missing in the past with pensions treated either as a windfall pot of cash to tap or as a football, kicked from party to party.

As a minimum everyone should have a fully-funded State Pension as the first part of their pension plan and then a top up plan on top, either an auto enrolment scheme, company scheme, a SIPP plan or something equivalent. Where people are short of cash the government should help by funding a minimum level of pension contributions so we do not end up with people retiring on little more than the State Pension.

Ultimately a good pension income should be a lifetime expectation for everyone not a lottery plagued by uncertainty and ignorance - which it is now. That must end and it is time for change.

• Our latest issue of Financial Planning Today magazine is available. Here’s link to view the issue: https://bit.ly/2ZdVXWz. If you have any questions or want to drop me a line to provide feedback you can reach me on This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Kevin O’Donnell is editor of Financial Planning Today and a journalist with 40 years of experience in finance, business and mainstream news. This topical comment on the Financial Planning news appears most weeks, usually on Fridays but occasionally other days.  Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Follow @FPT_Kevin >Top Tip: Follow Financial Planning Today on Twitter / X @_FPToday for breaking news and key updates