Michael Meacher MP

Danny Alexander’s main argument is that lower and middle earners will be better off in retirement as a result of the Government’s improved proposals announced on 2nd November.   But this is a sleight of hand.   What he has done is calculate that if such an earner worked longer and retired later, he or she would get more under the Government’s revised scheme at age 68 than under the current local goverment pension scheme (LGPS) at age 65 – but not more, in fact considerably less, than under the current GLPS taken at 68.   Take a 45 year old school dinner lady with 5 years’ service working part-time earning £8,000 (£154 a week).   Under the current LGPS taken at age 65 she would get £64 a week, while under the Government’s proposal taken at 65 she would get £56 a week.   Under the Government’s proposal taken at 68, she would get £74.50 a week, which is certainly £10 more than the £64 under the LGPS at 65.   But the key point, which Danny Alexander dishonestly ignores, is that (comparing like with like) she would get under the current LPGS taken at 68 no less than £87.50 a week. (more…)