Then there’s the new state pension that will eventually be an improvement on the old one, even the benefits were initially oversold.
Private medical insurance
During my years of writing this column I have embarked on my own life journey.
From working full-time as editor of Money Mail, I left to work part-time as a freelancer while I dealt with personal issues. That meant bidding farewell to a company-sponsored pension.
It also meant an end to my occupational medical insurance and the financially painful decision to buy my own.
That was an occasion when I found independent financial advice invaluable. My knowledge of medical insurance was sketchy to say the least, so I used an expert who found the best option.
So where are we 13 years on and what can we look forward to?
You, as financial advisers, have your work cut out as the emphasis on self-reliance increases in a harsher world.
You will have to guide clients through an increasingly complex landscape while dodging the questionable products and the inevitable complaints from those who are dissatisfied, despite doing your best to help them.
The financial world needs to look to the future and among other things that means bringing recruitment and career development into the modern world.
We need to see more women and people from ethnic minorities in senior positions.
Financial advisers – like journalists - have not always had the best of reputations. Sometimes the criticism is deserved; sometimes not.
But I firmly believe that the vast majority work extremely hard to get the best results for their clients.
Good luck and please be kind to James Coney who will take over this slot next week.
Tony Hazell writes for the Daily Mail's Money Mail section
