Savings, pensions and wealth

Public sector pension rules are a mess that helps neither workers nor the government. Fixing them could be a win-win.

Large numbers of people nearing retirement do not know their state pension age (SPA), creating risks especially as the SPA rises again next year.

How do people draw on their private pension wealth in retirement, how might this change in future, and what risks do they face?

What policies might help people manage their defined contribution pension wealth in later life? 

All IFS analysis to date of Chancellor Rachel Reeves' 2025 Spring Statement.

A recent change in ONS methodology reduced measured household wealth by over £2 trillion. But is the new approach an improvement?

What are the consequences of the proliferation of deferred small pension pots and what are the merits of different potential policy responses?

It is now 66 for both men and women. Between April 2026 and March 2028 it will rise to 67.

What are the drivers of ethnic gaps in private pension participation rates and what consequences will these gaps have for future retirement incomes?

We study young adults who live with parents, considering how the share living with parents varies across groups, and how this can relate to saving.

This IFS Pensions Review report sets out issues with the current means-tested benefit system for those approaching the state pension age and beyond. 

The prime minister’s rhetoric on housebuilding is welcome, but it won’t be enough without a complete overhaul of the planning system.

Foregoing a degree for an apprenticeship, saving during Covid and being born and bred in the capital have helped. With sky-high rents, others are not.

The Autumn 2024 Budget brought some agricultural property into inheritance tax. What are the changes? Who will be affected? Were they a good idea?