Welfare Reform on the Web (November 2008): Pensions - UK

An assessment of the Government's reforms to public sector pensions

Pensions Policy Institute

London: Pensions Policy Institute, 2008

url: http://www.pensionspolicyinstitute.org.uk/news.asp?p=317&s=2&a=0

This report by PPI analyses the impact of the Government's public sector pension reforms on public sector employees, including the sustainability of the public sector schemes and comparison between pay and pensions in the public and private sectors. The research was funded by the Nuffield Foundation

Euro-court backs fixed retirement at 65

C. Hope

Daily Telegraph, Sept. 24th 2008, p. 10

Age equality campaigners have lost the latest round of their battle to ban compulsory retirement at 65 in Britain. British regulations ban discrimination on the grounds of age but exclude pensioners, who can be dismissed at 65 without redundancy payments. The Advocate General, a senior adviser to the European Court of Justice, has argued that a fixed retirement age is not necessarily contrary to EU law.

Pension lifeboat liabilities increase

N. Timmins

Financial Times, Oct. 10th 2008, p. 2

The Pension Protection Fund has revealed that its potential liabilities have increased by 50% in a week due to falling share prices, and are now running at a £125bn deficit. The fund has not yet seen an increase in the number of claims upon it.

Pensions reduced if you are middle class

H. Wallop

Daily Telegraph, Sept. 23rd 2008, p.1

Pensioners living in affluent areas are to receive smaller retirement payments from private schemes because they are expected to live longer. Some of the largest pension providers have decided to use customers' postcodes to determine the exact size of their annuity. People in middle class areas such as Surrey and Buckinghamshire will receive up to £230.00 a year less than those in deprived areas such as Manchester.

Why should I be paying for MP s to have a comfortable retirement?

P. Johnston

Daily Telegraph, Oct. 20th 2008, p. 20

This comment piece attacks the unfunded final salary pensions enjoyed by public sector employees as unaffordable in hard economic times. They are also causing resentment and envy among private sector workers whose defined benefit occupational pensions and voluntary savings schemes have fallen significantly in value in the credit crunch. Most public sector workers are now well paid and should contribute to their pensions on the same basis as those in the private sector.