12.07.13
Pensions costs ‘highly uncertain’ – NAO
The Government lacks an overarching programme and point of single accountability for encouraging more people to save for retirement, a new report from the NAO shows.
Spending on state pensions and pensioner benefits has increased from 5.5% of GDP in 1990 to 6.9% in 2011-12, statistics demonstrate.
Increasing the future state pension age ad introducing automatic enrolment into workplace pensions aim to reduce the Government’s long-term spending liability, but the NAO warned that the long-term costs are “highly uncertain”.
Amyas Morse, head of the National Audit Office, said: “The Government is implementing a range of individual measures to help reduce the future cost for the state of people living longer and not saving enough for their retirement. But these measures are being managed by a variety of departments and public bodies and there is not enough coherence and accountability.
“What is needed is for the Government to take a more holistic view of its portfolio of interventions, how they interact and their relative costs and benefits. It should be more active and effective in influencing citizens to save more and plan more effectively for retirement, and in seeking to change the negative attitudes of some employers towards older workers.”
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