Join the pensions debate - can you afford not to?

Pensions has become one of the hottest political topics of the last five years with acres of media coverage and endless debate on how the UK can solve the so-called pensions crisis.

The Government has commissioned a number of reports on this vexed issue. However, with the prospect of finding a solution appearing as remote as ever, clearly hard choices have to be made.

The population is getting older, the savings’ pot is getting smaller, and people are living longer. It’s an issue which isn’t going to go away.

In October the Pensions Commission, made up of experts from business, unions, and academia, published its first report. Its remit was: “to assess trends in occupational and private and long term saving, and to advise whether there is a case for moving beyond the current voluntarist approach.”

The report set out four policy options for future pensions:

• Poorer Pensioners.
• Higher Taxes.
• More Pensions Saving or
• Later Retirement.

Usdaw will be submitting its response in the next few weeks. If you have any particular views you wish to be included, please write to the pensions section at central office, or e-mail: pensions@usdaw.org.uk

• To view this article taken from our activists magazine Network in full.

• The report is available on the web site at: www.pensionscommission.org.uk.

Notes to Editors:

• Usdaw (the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers) is the UK’s fifth biggest trade union, with over 340,000 members. Most Usdaw members work in the retail sector, but the union also has many members in transport, distribution, food manufacturing, chemicals and other trades.

• More information and news releases are available at our online Newsroom.

• Journalists can subscribe to receive Usdaw news releases via our online e-news service.

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