The key problem is stagnation. Margaret Thatcher’s reforms promoted mobility and opportunity. Now we are an economy which doesn’t change enough.
As we live and work for longer, good work is vital to provide a better later life. We believe that government and employers both have a role to play in enabling good work for the benefit of the economy, businesses and individuals.
The Chancellor has opened a consultation on giving employees the “legal right to require a new employer to pay pension contributions into their existing pension if they choose”.
Monday’s speech and today’s announcement show them choosing their ground for the next election. And since Hunt may find no money for further tax cuts next spring, the option of a May general election is opening up.
Voters clearly want it – and the recent past suggests he’s a more credible agent of it than Sir Keir.
The campaign simply asks for fair compensation for the Department for Work and Pensions’ failure to inform them of this massive change to their state pension arrangements.
Flynn, for the Scots Nats, dared to speak without notes: an example too rarely followed by other MPs.
The Office for Budget Responsibility already predicts expenditure on the state pension and other pensioner benefits are set to rise from 5.6 per cent of GDP in the current decade to 9.6 per cent by 2071.
The Cameron Government showed that benefits cuts are acceptable, even popular, when they are perceived as fair.
What’s missing are the long-term reforms that would overcome resistance by the pension sector. The question is whether the Government will use the limited time remaining in the Parliament to fix these problems.
Although politicians like to elide them, long-term thinking and putting difficult things off until tomorrow are not the same thing.
The ConservativeHome Savings, Pensions & Investments Conference is taking place today (22nd May). Watch live from 9am.
We kick off a ConservativeHome project on strong families, better schools and good jobs today – indispensable means of achieving a smaller state and a stronger society.
This move will not only make people richer but will also stimulate economic growth, as many such ISAs are invested into UK stocks and shares.