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Behind the scenes with Steve Webb: the inside story of his popular column
When I met the current editor of This is Money in 2016 and offered to answer readers’ questions about pensions, I had no idea that I would still be working eight years later…
As I reach my 400th weekly column, we thought it might be interesting for readers to take a behind-the-scenes tour to see how things are put together and offer some tips on how to get your questions answered.
Every week, many dozens of readers from the UK and around the world contact This is Money via Questions about pensions email address.
Questions cover the full range of topics from state pensions and benefits, company and private pensions, the rules on pension tax relief, financial advice, pension transfers and much more.
The This is Money team reviews all questions and removes all personal data so that when they are sent to me I have no idea who asked the question.
I read every question that comes in and this gives me a great idea of what the public thinks when it comes to pensions.
This is Money readers have sometimes acted as a canary in the mine, drawing our attention to emerging problems that no one else has spotted.
The classic example of this was a reader who contacted us in early 2020 because his wife was receiving a very low state pension.
That column triggered dozens more questions and, after more columns and much campaigning, the government ended up spending four years fixing the state pensions of more than 100,000 people and paying off arrears of almost £1bn.
When choosing the topic for my next column, I try to vary the topics I cover.
Do you have a question for Steve Webb? Scroll down to find out how to contact him
Some weeks will be about the (very welcome) problem of how to manage a pension pot that exceeds the lifetime limits for pension tax relief, while others will be about the details of the benefit system for the lowest-income retirees.
While it would be nice to think that as a former Pensions Minister and partner in a pension consultancy firm I would be able to answer any question put to me, this is far from the truth.
Sometimes I look at a question and think, “That sounds interesting, I wonder what the answer will be.”
Fortunately, I can draw on the experience of my LCP colleagues, former Royal London colleagues, other experts from across the pensions world and, occasionally, specialist lawyers.
I am grateful to all of them for sharing their time and knowledge.
In terms of things that make a question stand out for a potential column, this would include:
– Something new or topical that I haven’t written about before or that is causing confusion;
– A question that includes the key information but is not so long that we have to cut out chunks for readers to digest, although there are naturally exceptions when there is great value in learning about it and then publishing a larger story;
– A topic that may be relevant or of interest to a large number of our readers; of course, I sometimes answer “niche” questions that probably only affect a few people, but more often than not I’m looking for things that will benefit others beyond the individual reader who wrote.
Once I’ve drafted my response, I usually sleep and review it the next day to make sure it’s clear and accurate.
It’s very satisfying that This is Money readers have helped us uncover something the Government has been hiding. The column would be nothing without you.
It then passes to This is Money’s pensions editor, who examines it with his expert eye, asks questions to clarify the matter and suggests improvements.
Finally, the article will be sent to the This is Money editorial team for further review and publication the following Monday.
If you submit a question and don’t receive a response by the following Monday, it doesn’t necessarily mean it won’t be answered.
Sometimes I need a little more time to research an issue or get a response from the Government, so it’s worth keeping an eye on that in the coming weeks as well.
This is Money sends a link to readers who get a question answered to ensure they don’t miss my response.
I wish I could personally respond to everyone who writes, but unfortunately that is not possible.
I’ve learned a lot from writing my column each week, and it can be especially rewarding when we can help an individual reader solve a long-standing problem.
It’s also very satisfying when This is Money readers help us spot something the Government has been sweeping under the carpet.
This column would be nothing without you, our readers, so please keep your questions coming.
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