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Dropping the earnings link for state pensions sets a dangerous precedent

August 18, 2021 Ros Altmann Comments 9 comments

Pensioners are not all well-off, millions rely on the State Pension which is the lowest in the developed world. Removing the earnings link sets a dangerous precedent that pensioners are a target for cost savings. Basic state pension was worth 26% of average earnings in 1979, fell to 16.3% by 2010 and is now 19% with new State Pension at 24.8%. A comprehensive review of pensioner support is needed, not short-term sudden changes in their protection. It…

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Chancellor and PM can help pension funds create their Investment Big Bang

August 5, 2021 Ros Altmann Comments 1 comment

PM and Chancellor are right to encourage UK pension funds to invest more in UK growth projects. Investment Big Bang could be kick-started at pace and scale by DB pensions more easily than DC, including near £300billion local authority pension assets. If Government offers a guaranteed return at least equivalent to gilts, DB schemes could invest more freely, boost growth more quickly and help fix their deficits faster. Long-term Asset Fund can help DC schemes overcome daily…

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Bank of England must put QE on pause tomorrow

August 4, 2021 Ros Altmann Comments 0 Comment

As Covid pandemic wanes, Bank of England’s emergency policies should be paused. Money-tree policy has no clear end, but is inflating asset bubbles which may spill over into price inflation. Global central banks are not even clear that QE is needed as inflation is picking up. QE is still a monetary experiment: When central banks introduced the money-printing idea of ‘quantitative easing’, in the teeth of the financial crisis, the policy was designed to stave off a 1930s-style deflation and…

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State Pension needs radical overhaul, not short-term tinkering

July 8, 2021 Ros Altmann Comments 4 comments

Don’t abandon State Pension triple lock just because of one year’s figures. Triple lock is not a sensible policy – it’s a political construct that has acquired totemic significance. We need a comprehensive review of all aspects of pensioner support, not constant tinkering with parts of it. Take the political meddling away and let’s have a sensible retirement income system for all. State pension triple lock is an inefficient policy tool, but has proved a really potent…

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Reducing pensioner poverty – over 2 million poor pensioners need encouragement to claim Pension Credit

June 16, 2021 Ros Altmann Comments 0 Comment

Worrying rise in number of pensioners living in poverty. Poverty particularly acute for oldest and single pensioners, those in social rented housing and those from black and Asian backgrounds. Yet official figures show £1.6billion Pension Credit is going unclaimed each year with nearly a million pensioner households missing out on an average £1600 a year. Delighted to see AgeUK, Len Goodman and Rustie Lee joining calls to improve Pension Credit take-up, which has been stuck at 40% since 2010. Worrying…

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A chance to end pensioner poverty this Bank Holiday

May 27, 2021 Ros Altmann Comments 2 comments

This Bank Holiday weekend, if you’re visiting elderly relatives or neighbours, could be a golden opportunity to stop pensioner poverty. Furlough payments supported workers with their living costs during lockdown, but over one million isolated pensioners have not had money they’re entitled to. £1.8billion Pension Credit is going unclaimed by UK pensioners – this money is rightfully theirs, so do tell them about it or help them apply. Up to £9,000 a year Pension Credit for single pensioners PLUS perhaps…

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Queens Speech – another missed chance to reform social care – if not now, when?

May 11, 2021 Ros Altmann Comments 0 Comment

If not now, when? Queen’s Speech missed another chance for social care reform. The pandemic has highlighted so many failures in our social care system, leaving elderly people without the care and support they require. 25,000 people relying on social care at home died, with excess deaths in some areas doubling or trebling as Covid-19 interrupted care services. Thousands more care home residents died last year as care homes were relegated to second class provision. Legislation is…

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FCA proposes tougher action to protect pension customers – at last!

May 4, 2021 Ros Altmann Comments 0 Comment

At last the FCA will force providers to help customers with unbiased PensionWise guidance. Pension freedoms were always intended to go hand in hand with help for customers to understand the risks of taking money from their pension. PensionWise service has rave reviews but less than one in ten customers use it before withdrawing or moving their pension money. Let’s hope providers do ensure their customers take-up PensionWise appointments to help avoid scams or expensive irreversible mistakes and unnecessary tax…

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State Pension Age policy needs urgent review

March 23, 2021 Ros Altmann Comments 5 comments

ONS life expectancy figures confirm need for urgent rethink of State Pension Age policy. 20-year difference in UK healthy life expectancy highlights injustice of continuing to force everyone to wait longer for their State Pension to start. Those in poorest health, carers, or long National Insurance records, may need State Pension before age 66. Delaying State Pension receipt for older people in poor health, unable to work and with no private pension is inequitable. A flexible band of pension ages…

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Budget Comment

March 3, 2021 Ros Altmann Comments 1 comment

Freezing the Pensions Lifetime Allowance will hit younger pension savers while older and wealthiest will already have protection at higher levels. Constant changes in rules and limits undermines long-term retirement planning. Chancellor should consider root and branch review of all the allowances to ensure a sustainable and stable system. This review should include identifying ways of incorporating provision for social care into long-term savings and pensions. Damage to confidence in long-term retirement planning: I recognise that the Chancellor has a…

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From Ros Altmann:economist and pensions,
investment and retirement policy expert