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19/07/2004
Retirement age should be raised to 70, says CBI
The retirement age should be raised to 70 if the government is to avoid a pensions crisis, the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) has said.
In its report on developing sustainable pensions provision, the CBI set out its vision to bring about better employer schemes, a higher state pension and an increased retirement age.
According to the CBI, the state pension age should gradually rise to 70 over the decade from 2020 to 2030. Together with a rise in the basic state pension this would mean the percentage of GDP being spent on state pensions would rise from 5% in 2000/01 to 7.1% by 2050/51 – rather than to 6% under the existing system.
To help low paid workers, the CBI report recommended that the government should increase the basic state pension to the level of the Pensions Credit in order to reduce the need for means testing. A government-provided, earnings-related second state pension should also be retained, the confederation said.
The CBI has warned that unless public sector schemes are made more affordable it will lead to growing resentment among private sector workers and employers who are paying the taxes that finance them.
Prepared by the CBI's Pensions Strategy Group, which is made up of senior business leaders and led by Unilever UK Chairman Richard Greenhalgh, the report concluded with a 22-point action plan aimed at companies, individuals and the government.
Richard Greenhalgh said that there were "no easy solutions" but the CBI's report was a "serious attempt to assess how we avoid widespread pensioner poverty in the decades ahead".
"Overwhelmingly, employers remain committed to pensions and have responded as well as they are able to, given the difficult circumstances that have confronted them. Few people appreciate the extreme pressure companies have been under - businesses will have to make £6 billion worth of additional pension payments in each of the next three years," he said.
"Employers are not the villains of the piece. Private provision has been tested to the limit by falling returns on investments, tax regime changes and longer life expectancy. This has been hugely damaging to companies' ability to invest and that's bad for shareholders, employees and the UK economy as a whole."
(gmcg)
In its report on developing sustainable pensions provision, the CBI set out its vision to bring about better employer schemes, a higher state pension and an increased retirement age.
According to the CBI, the state pension age should gradually rise to 70 over the decade from 2020 to 2030. Together with a rise in the basic state pension this would mean the percentage of GDP being spent on state pensions would rise from 5% in 2000/01 to 7.1% by 2050/51 – rather than to 6% under the existing system.
To help low paid workers, the CBI report recommended that the government should increase the basic state pension to the level of the Pensions Credit in order to reduce the need for means testing. A government-provided, earnings-related second state pension should also be retained, the confederation said.
The CBI has warned that unless public sector schemes are made more affordable it will lead to growing resentment among private sector workers and employers who are paying the taxes that finance them.
Prepared by the CBI's Pensions Strategy Group, which is made up of senior business leaders and led by Unilever UK Chairman Richard Greenhalgh, the report concluded with a 22-point action plan aimed at companies, individuals and the government.
Richard Greenhalgh said that there were "no easy solutions" but the CBI's report was a "serious attempt to assess how we avoid widespread pensioner poverty in the decades ahead".
"Overwhelmingly, employers remain committed to pensions and have responded as well as they are able to, given the difficult circumstances that have confronted them. Few people appreciate the extreme pressure companies have been under - businesses will have to make £6 billion worth of additional pension payments in each of the next three years," he said.
"Employers are not the villains of the piece. Private provision has been tested to the limit by falling returns on investments, tax regime changes and longer life expectancy. This has been hugely damaging to companies' ability to invest and that's bad for shareholders, employees and the UK economy as a whole."
(gmcg)
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20 February 2006
CBI warns employer compulsion is wrong answer
The CBI today has unveiled proposals to help tackle the UK's emerging pensions crisis without compelling business to contribute to staff pension schemes. The employers' organisation argued, in its submission to the Government, that enrolment without compulsion is the best way of increasing pensions saving without undermining existing provision.
CBI warns employer compulsion is wrong answer
The CBI today has unveiled proposals to help tackle the UK's emerging pensions crisis without compelling business to contribute to staff pension schemes. The employers' organisation argued, in its submission to the Government, that enrolment without compulsion is the best way of increasing pensions saving without undermining existing provision.
25 May 2006
Retirement age to rise to 68
The state pension age is to rise to 68, under new pension proposals announced by the government today. The government's White Paper on pensions reform said that the state pension age will be increased gradually, rising to 66 between 2024 and 2026, then 67 between 2034 and 2036 and finally 68 between 2044 and 2046.
Retirement age to rise to 68
The state pension age is to rise to 68, under new pension proposals announced by the government today. The government's White Paper on pensions reform said that the state pension age will be increased gradually, rising to 66 between 2024 and 2026, then 67 between 2034 and 2036 and finally 68 between 2044 and 2046.
30 November 2005
Mixed reaction to pensions report
Today's Pensions Commission report has been hailed by the government and opposition leaders but fiercely criticised by both businesses and trade unions. The review proposed a gradual rise in the state pension age to 68, as well as the introduction of a national pension saving scheme and a rise in payments linked to earnings, rather than prices.
Mixed reaction to pensions report
Today's Pensions Commission report has been hailed by the government and opposition leaders but fiercely criticised by both businesses and trade unions. The review proposed a gradual rise in the state pension age to 68, as well as the introduction of a national pension saving scheme and a rise in payments linked to earnings, rather than prices.
25 July 2005
Pension Age 'should rise to 67'
The pension age in the UK should be raised to 67, a report by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) has suggested.
Pension Age 'should rise to 67'
The pension age in the UK should be raised to 67, a report by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) has suggested.
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