Ross Greer MSP

WITH an ageing population and the increasing likelihood that coming generations will end their working lives less well placed than current retirees, the lack of attention given to pension funds is surprising.

This has led to a situation where very few people actually know exactly what Scottish pension funds are invested in.

Where funds put their money has huge implications, not just for those invested but for the rest of our society. From arms traders to the company running Trump’s child detention camps, Scottish pension funds have money in some decidedly dodgy places.

This raises major ethical issues. Green polling shows the public want Holyrood’s pension fund divested from these dodgy industries. I’m sure council staff feel the same about their own funds.

Alongside the ethics is the stability of funds heavily invested in fossil fuels – for obvious reasons a volatile long-term investment.

So the proposals to merge the 11 funds into one with much stronger environmental and social considerations in its governance is worth considering.

But it’s not without issues of its own. The existing funds do have an element of democratic governance. A centralised national fund risks moving decisions further away from the people they effect.

The current system isn’t working though and debate and decisions are long overdue.

Ross Greer is Green MSP for West Scotland and a pensions campaigner.