Professor Michael McMahon:

Both privately and in my current position, I am loath to give an answer. It is a question for elected officials to answer. Almost all of these decisions have winners and losers. If there were a magic silver bullet, we would have placed it on the table and everybody would have got behind it and been super happy. That is just not the way. It is for the political system to determine what is the right option. With pensions, in particular, deciding the winners and losers will involve an intergenerational aspect. There are big questions to be asked but there is a menu from which to choose. A grown-up debate on those options is required. We must consider what is the ideal and why. It is a conversation worth having.