Pension is considered one of the biggest social and economic factors in the 21st century according to the OECD. Traditional retirement schemes are under strain as life expectancies continue to increase far beyond what they were designed to pay for. Countries net replacement rate measures how effectively a pension system provides a retirement income to replace earnings is reduced from 58% and expected to reach 36% of labor force income preretirement year 2060 in the EU.

About 25 years ago the pension system moved from a model where the state and the employer promised a certain level of pension income. In this model their commitment end when the premium is paid. You now bear the consequences for how your pension assets are invested. The responsibility for pension has thereby shifted from the state and employer to you.

You on the other hand have no realistic way of taking the control. Pensions is complicated and it is very difficult to understand the impact of different choices and even just to know what you likely will receive in pension. In modern working life, e.g. the gig-economy, the complexity will increase even further.

The advisors you meet will often propose their expensive in-house products, e.g. pension advising is covered sales.

Under-served customer needs, unnecessarily complex products, high and hidden fees and deliberately complex processes open for new client propositions. One crucial factor is being able to break through a forest of similar but also complex propositions and communication. As a new player demands are made on both clarity and credibility.