| |
Centre for Policy on Ageing | |
 | |
|
| The reality of providing for old retired people | | Author(s) | John Groocock |
| Journal title | Generations Review, vol 16, no 3/4, September 2006 |
| Pages | pp 42-46 |
| Source | (Editorial e-mail address) gr@ageing.ox.ac.uk |
| Keywords | Pensions ; Finance [care] ; Social policy. |
| Annotation | The author uses findings from the Executive summary of the Pensions Commission's second report, 'A new pension settlement for the twenty-first century' (2005), to provided a simplified analysis of pensions finance. He notes that at any time, the goods and services consumed by older retired people (ORP) are provided by paid workers and unpaid carers (consume-as-you-go): there is a moral imperative to provide enough to keep all ORP out of hardship. This imperative minimum is paid for by state pensions supported by workers' taxes (pay-as-you-go). They also provide extra goods and services to ORP who have private second pensions. The latter are "funded" over decades and are more complicated, less flexible and less reliable than state pensions. Providing the imperative minimum for all ORP should still be practicable when the dependency ratio is much higher than now. However, the Pensions Commission's proposed expansion of private second pensions would greatly increase the burden of future workers and carers. Also, for most people, private pension contributions are not cost-effective, and private second pensions also undesirably widen ORP's income distribution. Therefore, the wisdom of expanding private second pensions is questionable. (RH). |
| Accession Number | CPA-060915214 A |
| Classmark | JJ: QC: TM2 |
Data © Centre for Policy on Ageing |
|
| ...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing. |
| |
|