Contrarian: The pension pot at the end of the rainbow

The pension pot at the end of the rainbow

The news that the fearsomely vocal Dr Ros Altmann has been appointed the government's Business Champion for Older Workers is great news.

Altmann is a new tsar for the three million-strong army of unemployed workers aged over 50 and under the retirement age. I have not always agreed with everything the former Saga director-general has said in the past about monetary easing and QE, but she is not known for hiding her light under a bushel. In fact, I fervently hope she starts raising lots of awkward questions, many of which have profound investment implications. The timing of her appointment is spot on – only a few months ago, the government announced a wholesale reform of the pensions laws which included giving pensioners r...