Pension Reform June 06
13 June 2006
Dear GeoffreyI am writing to you in response to the 'Security in Retirement' White Paper. We are very pleased that the Government has proposed a package of reform very similar to the Pensions Commission recommendations. We particularly appreciate the proposals relating to women and carers which has been a central campaigning issue for Age Concern for several years and the measures that the Government has taken to tackle pensioner poverty and the proposal to continue to update Pension Credit in line with earnings.
However, we are disappointed by how little there is in the White Paper for current pensioners and those retiring in the next few years. At the very least, the Government should make the link between Pension Credit and earnings statutory so that current pensioners don?t get poorer the longer they live.
The position of current pensioners is a major cause of concern for my organisation. I understood at the time of the Budget statement, when financial support to meet Council Tax bills was not renewed, that the Chancellor said that support for pensioners would be contained within the forthcoming White Paper. You may have seen recent reports that the total cost of the average pensioner?s household bills rose by 7.4% last year - four times faster than the rate of inflation. A further concern is that by the time the Basic State Pension is re-linked to earnings in 2012, its real value will have fallen to £72. We consider that the proposals in relation to coverage, such as the reduction in the number of contributory years required to qualify for a full sate pension to 30, should be introduced retrospectively for those already retired with incomplete contribution records.
I am anxious to hear what further will be done to ensure that current pensioners do not experience a fall in their living standards in the transitional period between now and the implementation of reform.
Yours sincerely
Barrie Duke, Chief Officer Back to top