Obscured by coverage of banks and bonuses over recent months, the UK's pension woes predate the financial crisis by some years - and arguably exceed it in scale.
Today, there are just under four working people for each UK pensioner; by 2050, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) projects there could be only two. Five years on from the Turner Report, political parties must spell out to voters how they will defuse this timebomb.
The government has already set the ball rolling; from April this year until 2020, women's state pension age will increase gradually to 65. The age for both sexes will then rise by two years each decade, reaching 68 by 2046. The Tories claim £13bn extra could be saved each year if these plans were brought forward 10 years - though leader David Cameron has said this is subject to review.
Reflecting concerns that an 'arbitrary' age of retirement is enforced by employers as a tool to shed staff, the Lib Dems have pledged to scrap it altogether. The Equality and Human Rights Commission and equalities minister Harriet Harman also champion its abolition as a catalyst for more flexible working arrangements.
But what will we get for our long years of toil? From April, a single pensioner will receive £97.65 from the state: a 2.5% rise for which the chancellor opted to amend the law to avoid a repeat of the outcry caused 10 years ago, when the weekly rate rose by just 75p. Both his opponents cite a further increase unaffordable at present.
All three parties would restore the link between the state pension and earnings: Labour and the Tories by 2015 at the latest, and the Lib Dems immediately. Lib Dems leader Nick Clegg recently acknowledged, however, that lack of funds have put a temporary hold on his plans to roll out a residence-based 'citizen's pension'.
Occupational pensions will also be subject to change. There is cross-party consensus that the new system of automatic enrolment, due to be phased in from October 2012, is required - although the Lib Dems warn some employees could be worse off if firms reduce existing contributions to the minimum amount.
Alistair Darling's planned cuts in higher-rate tax relief on pension contributions are endorsed by his Lib Dem counterparts, and though the Tories disagree, they have ruled out a quick reversal. A cap on public sector pensions is a feature of all three parties' agendas - and one of the most controversial.
Pension reform will prove protracted and complex, whoever is calling the shots. That we face working longer is certain; quite how long, and for how much, remains to be seen.
Today, there are just under four working people for each UK pensioner; by 2050, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) projects there could be only two. Five years on from the Turner Report, political parties must spell out to voters how they will defuse this timebomb.
The government has already set the ball rolling; from April this year until 2020, women's state pension age will increase gradually to 65. The age for both sexes will then rise by two years each decade, reaching 68 by 2046. The Tories claim £13bn extra could be saved each year if these plans were brought forward 10 years - though leader David Cameron has said this is subject to review.
Reflecting concerns that an 'arbitrary' age of retirement is enforced by employers as a tool to shed staff, the Lib Dems have pledged to scrap it altogether. The Equality and Human Rights Commission and equalities minister Harriet Harman also champion its abolition as a catalyst for more flexible working arrangements.
But what will we get for our long years of toil? From April, a single pensioner will receive £97.65 from the state: a 2.5% rise for which the chancellor opted to amend the law to avoid a repeat of the outcry caused 10 years ago, when the weekly rate rose by just 75p. Both his opponents cite a further increase unaffordable at present.
All three parties would restore the link between the state pension and earnings: Labour and the Tories by 2015 at the latest, and the Lib Dems immediately. Lib Dems leader Nick Clegg recently acknowledged, however, that lack of funds have put a temporary hold on his plans to roll out a residence-based 'citizen's pension'.
Occupational pensions will also be subject to change. There is cross-party consensus that the new system of automatic enrolment, due to be phased in from October 2012, is required - although the Lib Dems warn some employees could be worse off if firms reduce existing contributions to the minimum amount.
Alistair Darling's planned cuts in higher-rate tax relief on pension contributions are endorsed by his Lib Dem counterparts, and though the Tories disagree, they have ruled out a quick reversal. A cap on public sector pensions is a feature of all three parties' agendas - and one of the most controversial.
Pension reform will prove protracted and complex, whoever is calling the shots. That we face working longer is certain; quite how long, and for how much, remains to be seen.
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