Pension equality – “If we make the decisions, it can be done”.

henry tapper

9 months ago

This is one of the days you get in the year when Britain thinks it is on holiday and there is space to think about important things that we don’t get space to ponder.

Steve Webb brought up the question of women’s rights to the state pension and I saw some misogynistic stuff on linked in pointing the finger at Barbara Castle “a Labour women”. You can have a go at a politician for choosing sides but you cannot ignore a woman for being a woman.

My friend Andy Young has written to me following Steve Webb’s article on the “good news“ that women going forward should get equal rights under the state pension

Just to be clear, I am hugely in favour of equal rights.

We need to decide what that means – and having read Alexandra Miles great post this morning, how we adapt how pension rights accrue and are allocates to achieve whatever objectives we agree on.

I would expect Jeannie and Nick Pearce to be well aware of how Barbara Castle’s SERPS had provisions aimed at improving the outcomes for carers and those with fewer years in work. There is much that can be learned from both the experience and the aims of that.

The bottom line, which applies to all the pension incomes gaps, which apply on an individual basis and indeed amongst the groups which on average have high or lower estimated levels, is whether we are willing to make the changes needed which may be costly (and resources are very scarce) and complex to implement.

If we make the decisions, it can be done.

For those who don’t know Alexandra Miles, she is co-chair (data and research) of the Pensions Equity Group

Alexandra as a fund manager in her prime and Andy as an actuary with all the experience find themselves on the same page! Here is Andy’s comment on Steve Webb’s article

He has talked more to me from holiday with his family (hard to believe he is an active Dad looking after great children at 77). Here he is..

I am being deliberately provocative.

Aiming to point out that there are ways of achieving what seem attractive objectives, but they involve tough choices.

Iceland does reduce state pensions by means testing it against other pension income and assets. As a result the overall pension gap is much lower than in most countries.

We could also ensure that all care which means people (women mostly) give up paid work is (somehow) pensionable.

Not simple but not impossible. Costly, but to reduce the gap means either

Costs (and probably admin burdens) paid by someone

Or

Cuts (as with means testing Basic on an individual basis)

Or

Sharing within couples