Uncertainty, Trust and Pensions: the case of the UK reforms

Trust is valuable in facilitating social cooperation and is often thought to be helpful in the running of a complex modern welfare state. However, a number of sociologists, psychologists and political scientists have recently argued that trust in social institutions is in decline. One approach argues that the issue is compounded by a shift towards a more active and discriminating trust as part of a social transition towards a more reflexive society, and goes on to suggest that people often choose to place their active trust in non-state provision. This paper examines recent quantitative and qualitative evidence on trust in state and non-state pensions in the UK, as a context where current policy developments throw the general issues into sharp relief. It shows that patterns of trust in this setting can be understood in active terms, but that social divisions remain important in determining how active trust operates in practice. More vulnerable groups put their trust in the state, through lack of an alternative, while more confident and better-off groups tend to pursue investment strategies which they believe will give them more individual control over their money. Social divisions remain important during current social transitions, and often receive less attention than they merit in theoretical writing.