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Pensions

Chapters

  1. Salaries and Taxation
  2. Pensions
  3. Benefits
  4. Health and Care
  5. Education
  6. Housing
  7. Employment
  8. Trades Unions and Labour Laws
  9. Trade and Industry
  10. Transport
  11. Energy
  12. Environment
  13. Agriculture, Fisheries, Food and Rural Life
  14. Crime
  15. Legal System
  16. Immigration and Asylum
  17. Local Government
  18. Devolution and Regional Government
  19. Parliament and Democracy
  20. Media
  21. Freedom of Information and Privacy
  22. Northern Ireland
  23. European Union
  24. Foreign Policy
  25. Defence and Disarmament
  26. Conclusions
 Preamble

Chapters

  1. Salaries and Taxation
  2. Pensions
  3. Benefits
  4. Health and Care
  5. Education
  6. Housing
  7. Employment
  8. Trades Unions and Labour Laws
  9. Trade and Industry
  10. Transport
  11. Energy
  12. Environment
  13. Agriculture, Fisheries, Food and Rural Life
  14. Crime
  15. Legal System
  16. Immigration and Asylum
  17. Local Government
  18. Devolution and Regional Government
  19. Parliament and Democracy
  20. Media
  21. Freedom of Information and Privacy
  22. Northern Ireland
  23. European Union
  24. Foreign Policy
  25. Defence and Disarmament
  26. Conclusions
Under the Tories, pensioners got worse off because the link between the basic pension and earnings was broken and the value of SERPS was halved with no reduction in contributions. More pensioners therefore became eligible for means-tested benefits, while everyone else became increasingly dependent on company or personal pensions. Most company pensions were "final salary" schemes with the pension linked to final salary, but many employers cut back their own contributions to them. Personal pensions were expensive "money purchase" schemes with the pension depending on investment returns.
Labour policy was:
1 To restore the link between the basic pension and earnings  
2 To end all means-testing of pensioners  
3 To restore the value of SERPS (?)  
4 To define occupational pension funds as deferred pay which is an employee's by right  
5 To reject personal pensions as an inadequate substitute  
In fact under New Labour:
1 After long resistance, the link with earnings was promised from 2012 "subject to affordability and the fiscal position" Pledge carried out
2 Levels of means-testing rose and will still affect a third of pensioners beyond 2012 Policy shift to right of old Conservatives
3 The value of SERPS was not restored, and it was replaced(?) by a flat-rate State Second Pension Policy shift to right of old Conservatives
4 Employers lost any obligation to contribute to employees' occupational pensions and many changed to money purchase schemes which would pay out less Policy shift to right of old Conservatives
5 Personal pensions were promoted, though charges were lower in Stakeholder schemes Left as under the Conservatives
  NB - The retreat from 1 and 3 began under a commission set up by John Smith but reporting to Tony Blair.  
In addition:
Bullet point The official retirement age is to rise to 68 for both sexes by 2044  
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