Complex pensions a travesty of social justice

Rachel Reeves MP’s article (Yorkshire Post, February 16) should have been entitled “Don’t continue to rob the pensioners as previous governments have done”.

The UK pension scheme for state pensioners is condemned by the EU and OECD as the merest pension in the West and it ill becomes MPs to shed tears in public over details when the whole of the scheme is a shambles of complexity and travesty of social justice.

The hypocrisy of highlighting the problems for active women in their prime while reflecting the continuing poverty and struggles of their parents’ generation is nauseating.

To be fair to Ms Reeves, the Shadow Pensions Minister, she does draw attention to the fact that the last Labour administration left women receiving less than £40 per week than men, presumably because they were disinterested or incapable of addressing the problem – too much time consumed over the welfare of foxes, perhaps!

Of course, Mr Brown, Labour, developed the pension benefit, a 19th century concept incorporating a complex means test emphasising the folly of the less well off, saving too much or undertaking any form of paid employment or subsidy to any pension scheme which was not going to provide a substantial pension.

The coalition seems to be attempting to address the inequalities and injustice by introducing a straight £140 pension but they are delaying it to the end of this Parliament which raises the suspicion that it will not occur; if it does, a third of those over 70 now are unlikely to last that long!