When it comes to making defined contribution pension schemes work better, the focus needs to be on how much is going in, according to Lindsay Tomlinson, chairman of the National Association of Pension Funds.

The financial services industry, pension funds included, spends far too much time worrying about investing and which fund manager to employ, “which is going to make maybe 1 per cent difference if you’re lucky”, and far too little about the payments being made, he says.