Summary
WHEN the verdict is finally passed on the Blair government, it may find itself judged by its failure on pensions rather than anything to do with Iraq. It would certainly come as a surprise to the founders of the Labour Party to find that at the start of the 21st century, with the economy booming, that a Labour government has presided over a catastrophic failure in the provision of economic security for Britain's growing elderly population.
The problem is simply described. First, the value of state pensions has eroded by governments desperate to cut spending. Next, a variety of state sponsored schemes to persuade individuals to save for retirement have been fouled by mis-selling by the financial services industry. As a result, many pensioners have discovered that schemes to which they contributed have lost value or become insolvent along with their employers. The recent fall in stock- market values has further destroyed private savings and forced many companies to close their final salary pension schemes. Add to this the tax changes introduced by Gordon Brown in 1997, which made it much more expensive for companies to run their pension schemes, and the scene has been set for a crisis that will dog Mr Blair and whoever succeeds him for many years to come.See the full content of this document
Extract
Leader: Pensions Bill Will Not Stave Off Looming Crisis
Belatedly, the government has turned its attention to the problem - but with limited results. A new Pensions Bill is before Parliament which proposes to protect savers by creating a new Pensions Protection Fund (PPF). This will guarantee up to a defined cash limit of an empl...
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