As someone who has worked in and around retirement policy for several decades now, I have read umpteen reports about the advice gap.
But the most powerful evidence I have heard comes from people with lived examples, people who tell me their stories.
One such example occurred recently during a taxi journey, where the conversation started in the usual way: 'where to?' and 'what is it you do?'.
As ever, I took the opportunity to throw in a reference to pensions, which provoked interest from this 60-something driver, as it generally does. He went on to tell me his story.
He had had several jobs in his career and driving a taxi was just a recent venture to raise some additional income. He had understood the need to save throughout his working life and had been lucky enough to work for some large, generous employers with good pension schemes.
One way or another, he had approached his 60s with a little under £200k in pension savings.
What he told me next was with a smile on his face, a smile of satisfaction and pride.
His aim in retirement was to buy a holiday home in the UK that he could use whenever he liked, for him and his family to get away, and to rent out when it was not in use.
He had known for some years that he had options to draw money flexibly from his various pensions, and this had become the basis of his plans to fund his ambition of buying a second home.
I have to say I admired his sense of focus. Few people express such clarity in their retirement plans.
He talked me through how he had sought to cash in his pensions, one-by-one, in order to raise the necessary funds. He expressed a great sense of frustration at the many questions he had to answer as he talked to various pension providers.
Questions about whether he had considered all his options, understood the tax implications, and whether he had received any formal guidance or advice. He was particularly irritated by questions about how he intended to use the proceeds.
Uninhibited by any of this, within a few months, he had successfully transferred all of his retirement savings into a bank account, and he quickly set about purchasing the holiday home he had set his eyes on.
Everything went as planned, and he now owns a property that he is renovating for him and his family to use when they wish, and to rent out when they do not need it.
He was very comfortable with how he had used his retirement savings, and very happy that he had achieved his ambition. In his view, a good outcome.
At that point, I paid my fare and the conversation finished.
