Cherie's Place

The state pension: below the poverty line

UK pensioner poverty is among the worst in Europe – only Cyprus, Latvia and Estonia abandon their pensioners to a greater degree.  France spends over twice as much on pensions as the UK, Germany two-thirds more.

It is simply not true to say that the UK cannot afford [...]

The scandal of private sector pensions

The collapse of private sector pensions is one of the greatest outrages of our time.  Just over a decade ago nearly half of all private sector workers were in a workplace pension scheme; today it is only a third.  The cost of that decline will be borne by the taxpayer [...]

Public sector pensions: affordable and sustainable

The pensions of public sector workers have come under intense scrutiny in recent months, with ministers and the media describing them as ‘gold-plated’ and ‘unaffordable’. Currently public sector workers are being told they must pay more and work longer for a lower pension – but is this necessary?
Last year [...]

A booklet entitled ‘Fair Pensions for All‘ has been produced by PCS, the general union Unite, the National Union of Teachers (NUT), the University and College Union (UCU) and the National Pensioners’ Convention (NPC).  It looks at both private and public sector pensions and reveals a different point of view than the one [...]