Serious discussions of Social Security policy start from a few fundamental questions. One is the balance between contributions and means-testing as a basis for entitlement, another the balance between vertical redistribution, from richer to poorer, and horizontal redistribution, between different stages in the life cycle. A third is the relationship between the social security welfare […]
Posts under ‘Pensions’
No houses, no lunches, no foreigners: Theresa May launches her vision for Britain
May 19th, 2017 by James Elliott.Only death and taxes Theresa May’s shock announcement has been that her next government would make more people pay for their own social care at home. Under new means-testing rules, pensioners would start to pay for care at home as long as they had assets of more than £100,000, rather than the current £23,500, but the new […]
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What’s in the NPF draft policy statements?
Mar 24th, 2017 by David Pavett.According to the Labour Party Rulebook: “Party conference shall decide from time to time what specific proposals of legislative, financial or administrative reform shall be included in the Party programme. This shall be based on the rolling programme of work of the National Policy Forum.” (Emphasis added) The results of that “rolling programme of work” […]
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Workers of the world unite to save your pensions!
Sep 8th, 2015 by Dave Watson.Workers pensions across the world are facing similar challenges and we need to learn and act together. I was at the 2015 Workers Capital Conference yesterday, meeting with union pension negotiators and trustees from across the world. There is great best practice that we need to learn from, but also recognise that funds are invested […]
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Osborne’s budget giveaway for pensioners: never have so many lambs been so ripe for fleecing
Mar 18th, 2015 by Michael Meacher.We are now being presented with yet another almost unbelievable example of how ruthless the Tories are prepared to be in their own interest at the expense of the gullible and vulnerable. Already last year Osborne ruled that 320,000 savers a year with ‘defined contribution’ pensions would no longer have to buy an annuity – […]
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Private pension markets are not working
Aug 25th, 2014 by Michael Meacher.Thatcher ended the best pension scheme the UK has ever had, and pensions have never recovered from the consequent decline as constant mis-selling scandals continue abundantly to demonstrate. Barbara Castle’s SERPS schme in the 1970s was generous particularly to the low-paid and to women, highly popular, and provided universal protection against poverty in retirement. Thatcher […]
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Fast Facts: Gender social inequality and austerity in Europe
Mar 11th, 2014 by Tom Gill.Europe’s austerity fetish and longer term neo-liberal reforms promoted by Big Business, Governments and the EU Commission hurt women disproportionately. Here’s a few facts to illustrate the point. Europe wide The gender pay gap is around 16% It ranges from more than a quarter (27%) in Estonia to around a fiftieth (2%) in Slovenia. The latest figures […]
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Let’s tackle future pensioner poverty now
Jan 18th, 2014 by Fiona Twycross.My brother-in-law is a builder and turned 60 last year. He is physically fit for his age, I almost bought him a ‘Congratulations you’re 50’ card by mistake. However he is not likely to be able to sustain his highly physical job for another five or six years; certainly not for a decade. When I […]
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Has Labour freed itself from fear? It can’t be courageous if it doesn’t
Jan 15th, 2014 by Richard Murphy.Even Labour’s own supporters are saying it’s time for them to deliver some policies. I agree. And I’m not asking for the sort of thing that promises a VAT reduction on replacement windows. I’m asking for substance. Substance is a tough ask. The Guardian is interpreting it as relating to economics and of course it does, but only, I’d suggest […]
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The disgraces of the UK Coal demise
Jul 17th, 2013 by Jack Tunmore.Maybe we shouldn’t be surprised that the demise of UK Coal passed most of the mainstream media by with little comment. There was all that Wimbledon excitement, for a start, and much more importantly the debates that have paved the way for same-sex marriage to become law. Having made history, Westminster is now slipping into […]
