Millions not saving enough for retirement as pension shake-up review launched
Liz Kendall will today warn millions of people are not saving enough for retirement as she launches a review to shake-up the pensions system.
The Work and Pensions Secretary will resurrect the Pensions Commission, which was set up under ex-PM Tony Blair's Labour government.
The Department for Work and Pensions said the new Commission, which will report back in 2027, will be tasked with combating the retirement crisis.
An analysis shows that people looking to retire in 2050 are on course to receive £800 per year less than current pensioners. Around 15million people - four in 10 - are undersaving for retirement while an estimated three million self-employed people are not saving into a pension.
And the analysis shows a stark gender pensions gap, with a woman currently approaching retirement expected to receive a private pension income worth £5,000 less than a man.
The previous Pensions Commission recommended automatically enrolling people in workplace pensions. It has seen the number of eligible employees saving rise from 55% in 2012 to 88%.
Writing in The Mirror today, Ms Kendall says: "Unless we act, there is a real risk that tomorrow's pensioners are set to be poorer than today's. Put simply, too many people are not saving enough for retirement. And often it is through no fault of their own."
Ms Kendall is also expected to launch a review of the state pension age today (MON), which the DWP said she is legally obliged to do. It is not expected to report back until 2029 meaning there are unlikely to be any changes in the current Parliament.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves added: "We're making pensions work for Britain. The Pension Schemes Bill and the creation of pension megafunds mean an average earner could get a £29,000 boost to their pension pots.
"Now we are going further to ensure that people can look forward to a comfortable retirement.'
Paul Nowak, general secretary of the Trades Union Congress (TUC), said: "Far too many people won't have enough pension for a decent retirement, and too many - especially women, BME (black and minority ethnic) and disabled workers and the self-employed - are shut out of the workplace pension system altogether.
"That's why this Pensions Commission - which will bring together unions, employers and independent experts - is a vital step forward."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Sky News
21 minutes ago
- Sky News
Govt 'shadowy' to reveal Rayner warning about social cohesion in 'readout', Harriet Harman says
It was "shadowy" of the government to reveal Angela Rayner warned about the threat to social cohesion in a "readout", Harriet Harman has said. On Wednesday, Downing Street released a "cabinet readout" saying the deputy prime minister told ministers the government "had to show it had a plan to address people's concerns" to defuse community tensions. She said immigration was having a "profound impact on society" and noted 17 out of 18 places where protests broke out last summer after kicking off in Southport were the most deprived areas in Britain. This was widely interpreted as a warning that riots could happen this summer. But Baroness Harman told Beth Rigby on the Electoral Dysfunction podcast that announcing it in a "readout" - given to journalists after a cabinet meeting - was not the way to do things. "These are quite huge issues - the potential for disorder, social integration, the public mood, and ahead of summer," the Labour peer said. "I don't know whether I'm just a bit old-fashioned about this, but I think it's better when government are making statements like that they give people an opportunity to ask questions rather than this kind of sort of rather shadowy way of doing it." 3:58 The former minister added that cabinet meetings are supposed to be secret so that everybody around the table can speak and say "anything they want because there is this protected thing". "You don't say what's happening at cabinet," she added. "And if anybody asks in the House of Commons or anywhere else, what happened in cabinet, the automatic response is 'we don't talk about what's happened in cabinet, it's private'. And they've sort of slightly breached that now. "So is it now a situation where anybody can be asked, what did somebody say in cabinet? "Or is it only that the prime minister can say what happened in cabinet? "It's a bit puzzling." Baroness Harman's comments came after protests in Epping last week outside a hotel housing asylum seekers turned violent. More than 1,000 people gathered outside The Bell Hotel in protests over two nights after an asylum seeker was arrested and charged on suspicion of alleged sexual assault of a 14-year-old girl in the town. Counter-protesters joined, and this week Reform UK leader Nigel Farage accused Essex Police of bussing them in, which the force said was "categorically wrong".
South Wales Guardian
37 minutes ago
- South Wales Guardian
Israel not listening to UK, say MPs, as they urge recognition of Palestine
The UK's actions over the ongoing conflict and 'in the years preceding, have often been too little, too late,' the Foreign Affairs Committee has said, as they called for further sanctions 'against settlers'. The Prime Minister is facing increasing pressure to fulfil Labour's promise to recognise Palestine as the conflict continues. Mayor of London Sir Sadiq Khan is among those who have called for the move. A 'majority' of MPs on the committee have also backed it, according to the chairwoman, Dame Emily Thornberry. 'The UK's actions in this conflict, and in the years preceding, have often been too little too late,' the committee said. In their report the MPs said that 'some of Israel's recent actions in Gaza are difficult to justify given the death toll among civilians' and pressure should be put on Tel Aviv 'for this conflict to end and for hostages to be released'. 'It seems that the Israeli government is not listening to the UK. And while it listens to the US government, it only does so sporadically,' they said. 'If Israel does not listen to its friends and allies, and only sporadically to the US, then pressure must be exerted for this conflict to end and hostages to be released.' Chairwoman of the committee Dame Emily Thornberry has said that the Government 'must not shrug our shoulders in despair and say that there is nothing we can do'. She called on minsters to 'immediately extend sanctions against settlers' and said that the UK 'must also play our part in evidence collection, which will be vital to the inevitable legal reckoning when this conflict finally comes to an end'. She said that the UK 'must be realistic about our role' and 'our greatest power is in our alliances'. 'Whether that is persuading the US to have an influence on Israel to come to a ceasefire, or with nations in the region whose support will be vital to a long-term two-state solution.' She added: 'It is the view of the majority of the committee that the UK Government should immediately recognise the state of Palestine, signalling the UK's desire to work urgently towards a two-state solution alongside our allies.' It comes as there are increasing warnings of starvation in Gaza. On Thursday the BBC joined other news organisations in saying that they are 'deeply alarmed' that journalists are facing 'the threat of starvation'. Sir Keir Starmer said ahead of an emergency call about Gaza with French and German leaders on Friday that while the situation there has been 'grave' for some time, it has 'reached new depths'. But he stuck to his previous stance that a ceasefire should come before the UK recognises statehood. 'A ceasefire will put us on a path to the recognition of a Palestinian state and a two-state solution which guarantees peace and security for Palestinians and Israelis,' he said. French president Emmanuel Macron pressed for recognition of Palestinian statehood in a recent address to the UK's Parliament, saying it was the 'only path to peace'. On Thursday, Mr Macron said France would recognise Palestine in a move he plans to formalise at the UN General Assembly in September. Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said earlier that such a move would have to be meaningful and come as part of a 'genuine move towards a two-state solution and a long-term peace settlement' with Israel. Mr Reynolds told LBC Radio: 'We are deeply committed to the recognition of Palestine as a state, which was part of our manifesto, but obviously we want that to be meaningful.
Glasgow Times
2 hours ago
- Glasgow Times
Israel not listening to UK, say MPs, as they urge recognition of Palestine
The UK's actions over the ongoing conflict and 'in the years preceding, have often been too little, too late,' the Foreign Affairs Committee has said, as they called for further sanctions 'against settlers'. The Prime Minister is facing increasing pressure to fulfil Labour's promise to recognise Palestine as the conflict continues. Mayor of London Sir Sadiq Khan is among those who have called for the move. A 'majority' of MPs on the committee have also backed it, according to the chairwoman, Dame Emily Thornberry. 'The UK's actions in this conflict, and in the years preceding, have often been too little too late,' the committee said. In their report the MPs said that 'some of Israel's recent actions in Gaza are difficult to justify given the death toll among civilians' and pressure should be put on Tel Aviv 'for this conflict to end and for hostages to be released'. 'It seems that the Israeli government is not listening to the UK. And while it listens to the US government, it only does so sporadically,' they said. 'If Israel does not listen to its friends and allies, and only sporadically to the US, then pressure must be exerted for this conflict to end and hostages to be released.' Chairwoman of the committee Dame Emily Thornberry has said that the Government 'must not shrug our shoulders in despair and say that there is nothing we can do'. She called on minsters to 'immediately extend sanctions against settlers' and said that the UK 'must also play our part in evidence collection, which will be vital to the inevitable legal reckoning when this conflict finally comes to an end'. She said that the UK 'must be realistic about our role' and 'our greatest power is in our alliances'. 'Whether that is persuading the US to have an influence on Israel to come to a ceasefire, or with nations in the region whose support will be vital to a long-term two-state solution.' She added: 'It is the view of the majority of the committee that the UK Government should immediately recognise the state of Palestine, signalling the UK's desire to work urgently towards a two-state solution alongside our allies.' It comes as there are increasing warnings of starvation in Gaza. On Thursday the BBC joined other news organisations in saying that they are 'deeply alarmed' that journalists are facing 'the threat of starvation'. Sir Keir Starmer said ahead of an emergency call about Gaza with French and German leaders on Friday that while the situation there has been 'grave' for some time, it has 'reached new depths'. But he stuck to his previous stance that a ceasefire should come before the UK recognises statehood. 'A ceasefire will put us on a path to the recognition of a Palestinian state and a two-state solution which guarantees peace and security for Palestinians and Israelis,' he said. French president Emmanuel Macron pressed for recognition of Palestinian statehood in a recent address to the UK's Parliament, saying it was the 'only path to peace'. On Thursday, Mr Macron said France would recognise Palestine in a move he plans to formalise at the UN General Assembly in September. Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said earlier that such a move would have to be meaningful and come as part of a 'genuine move towards a two-state solution and a long-term peace settlement' with Israel. Mr Reynolds told LBC Radio: 'We are deeply committed to the recognition of Palestine as a state, which was part of our manifesto, but obviously we want that to be meaningful.
