Gordon Lishman‚ Director-General of Age Concern England‚ said:
“This is a defining moment for the Government. It is a time for bold leadership and not more hand-wringing. Millions of ordinary working people and their families will be poorer in retirement unless the government acts quickly and decisively.

'The Pensions Commission has provided us with a once-in-a-generation opportunity to reform our pension system for today's and tomorrow's needs and has highlighted the difficult decisions we face as a society. In particular‚ people on modest and average incomes need help to build an adequate retirement income‚ and women need a system fit for the 21st century and not the world of the 1940s.

“We support Turner’s emphasis on having a more generous state pension system and the recognition about the need to improve the situation for women‚ carers and lower income groups.

“Age Concern believes that Turner is right to say the solution to the pensions crisis must be a combination of more tax‚ longer working lives‚ and higher private savings. But to win public support for reform‚ people will need to see a clear connection between what they pay in and what they get back in retirement. And reforms must be fair to different generations‚ and people with different life and work experiences.

“The Government’s pensions policy stalled for three years after the publication of its Green Paper on pensions.  The Turner Report has re-ignited the debate and passed the baton back to the Government. A clear timetable for action is now needed to protect future generations while continuing to tackle poverty among today’s pensioners.”

Further details of the report can be found on the Pensions' Commission's website http://www.pensionscommission.org.uk

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