Pensions white paper is only half the solution - Laws

12.29.46pm BST (GMT +0100) Thu 25th May 2006

"Today's proposals take Government policy in the right direction, but they provide only a half-solution to Britain's pensions problem" - David Laws MP

Commenting on the Pensions White Paper, Liberal Democrat Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary, David Laws MP said "Today's proposals take Government policy in the right direction, but they provide only a half-solution to Britain's pensions problem.

"This package does little for today's pensioners, and leaves Britain with a state pension system which is still complex and excessively reliant on means-testing.

"Gordon Brown's 'get out clause' on restoring the earnings link means that the Government wants to introduce higher state pension ages 5 years before Lord Turner proposed, while delaying the introduction of the earnings link by up to 5 years.

"There should be no increase in the state pension age without clear and bankable guarantees on the earnings link.

"The reliance on high levels of means-testing, with between a quarter and a half of pensioners still being means-tested, will undermine incentives to save, and fails to provide a decent minimum income to keep all pensioners out of poverty.

"The Government's decision to reject Lord Turner's proposals on a residency-based pension means that many people, including many women, will still only receive a part-pension.

"The Government also continues to duck the challenge of Public Sector Pensions Reform. The Government should establish an Independent Commission to bring forward proposals for reform.

"There is much in the new pensions architecture which is welcome - the restoration of the earnings link, the acceptance of a rising state pension age, and the broad approach of the National Pension Savings Scheme.

"The Government is building its future pension system on the sand of a totally inadequate basic state pension. The continuation of complexity, mass means-testing, and a low basic pension threatens to undermine today's settlement. The Government's proposals will fail to deliver the final and settled solution which we have all sought."