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Centre for Policy on Ageing | |
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British pension policy in the twenty-first century
— a partnership in pensions or a marriage to the means test? | | Author(s) | Katherine Rake, Jane Falkingham, Martin Evans |
| Journal title | Social Policy and Administration, vol 34, no 3, September 2000 |
| Pages | pp 296-317 |
| Keywords | Pensions ; Private pensions ; Means testing ; Social policy ; Labour. |
| Annotation | This paper analyses how well the latest in a long line of reforms to the British pension system will serve the low income population and protect against a means-tested old age. The authors argue that New Labour's proposals (set out in the Green Paper "A new contract for welfare: partnership in pensions") will develop a new relationship between public and private pension provision which leads to a much wider role for means testing. By examining hypothetical cases of low-income individuals, faults in the pension system are identified. Contrary to the government's message, the authors find that the proposed State Second Pension will not be a replacement for the state earnings-related pension scheme (SERPS). Rather, it will combine with the basic pension to provide a new flat-rate pension aimed at the poorest. Low-income individuals and those with broken work histories will face great difficulty in avoiding a means-tested old age. Furthermore, increased reliance on annuity income in retirement may also propel significant numbers of the middle classes into means testing. Far from simplifying the pension system, the proposals will add complexity, making it difficult for individuals to make an optimal pension choice. The proposed pension partnerships are likely to be unsustainable, and therefore likely to lead to a continuance of the cycle of pension reform. (KJ/RH). |
| Accession Number | CPA-000928205 A |
| Classmark | JJ: JK: JF4C: TM2: VL3 |
Data © Centre for Policy on Ageing |
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| ...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing. |
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