Speaking at the launch of this guide Pensions Minister Stephen Timms, Chief Executive of the Occupational Pensions Regulatory Authority Caroline Instance, and editor of 'Pensions World' Stephanie Hawthorne all backed our efforts to make pension information easier to understand.

Latin terms get the death sentence
Another development has seen one of biggest shake-ups of the last hundred years for the civil justice system in England and Wales.

Based on Lord Woolf's 1996 report, 'Access to Justice', the reforms should revolutionise the way cases in the civil courts are conducted. They will also sweep away Latin phrases and much of the centuries-old legal language.

The changes were designed to cut delays, complexity and the cost of litigation. This should result in making our civil justice system more accessible to the general public.

The changes, part of the 'big bang' in civil legal procedure, are being driven through by the Lord Chancellor's Department. A spokesman for the Department explained, 'It has been obvious for some years that our legal system is too slow, too expensive and too complicated for most people to use. People can't afford to go to court, and people who do get their day in court can't understand what the judges and lawyers are saying. So we've tried to make things cheaper, clearer and faster.'

As with all major projects, change doesn't happen overnight. While many of these changes have been taken on board, it will still take some time to turn good ideas into reality.