REFORMS DO NOTHING FOR CURRENT PENSIONERS 

MANY SCOTS WILL NEVER RECEIVE PENSION

Angus MP Mike Weir, SNP Shadow Minister for Work and Pensions, has expressed “grave doubts” about the reform of pensions announced by the UK government this week.

Mr Weir said that although changes to link earnings and pensions and to give more help to women and carers were on the face of it welcome there still remained serious problems, in particular nothing was being done for current pensioners, there was no progress towards a Citizens Pension and the raising of the retirement age means many Scots will never receive any pension. 

“Gordon Brown retained a veto on whether the link will be restored or not since it is specifically stated to be subject to affordability and the fiscal position. Whilst the department of work and pensions trumpet the change the Treasury talk about it as an aspiration. The bottom line is that there is no cast iron guarantee it will ever happen.

“The government had the opportunity to provide a bold vision for future pensions by introducing a Citizens Pension, they have totally failed to grasp it and instead have retained a complex means tested system. A Citizens Pension would have ensured that every Scots pensioner was lifted out of poverty and provided a secure base for future savings.

“The Citizens Pension is affordable by reform of the current unfair system of pension tax relief which massively benefits the better off, yet the government have totally failed to address this point.

“Worse still the raising the retirement age means that many Scots will never receive their pension since there are many areas of Scotland where the average life expectancy is already less than the current retirement age, let alone the increased one.

“Pensioners throughout Scotland will feel let down by this government’s abject failure to tackle the core problems facing pensions.”