With only four weeks to go until the General Election, the three main political parties have a limited deadline to win support from existing pensioners on their pension policies. Four out of ten voters will be older than 55 on May 6, and politicians will need to take the views of older people seriously in the coming weeks - and now the 200,000 members of the Civil Service Pensioners’ Alliance and UNITE Federation will be going to their local parliamentary candidates to demand improvements to pensions in the future.
 
Improving pensions is a key component of the organisations’ Call to Action manifesto which was launched at a recent high-profile event in Parliament. Lifting people out of means testing and secured the future of defined benefit schemes are at the centre of their proposals.
 
Roger Turner General Secretary of UNITE Federation said: “The number of older people in poverty fell by a third over the past decade, but more than two million pensioner households are still living below the breadline.
 
“We must lift pensioners out of means testing and to ensure that the stigma associated with benefits such as pension credit is removed by ensuring that those who are eligible receive these entitlements automatically.
 
“As well as poverty faced by many current pensioners, the closure of occupational pension schemes and the collapse in the value of private pension savings risk a future pensions crisis. People will only save if they believe that it is worth their while; this is why we are calling on the next Government to take urgent action help younger people save for their future.”
 
Mike Duggan General Secretary of the CSPA said: “The ‘grey vote’ will make all the difference, especially in marginal seats, and will ultimately decide who gets the keys to Downing Street. Public Sector Pensions are increasingly under attack from both politicians and the media, but the truth is that most public sector employees have only small pensions.”
 
“Our message is that rather than reducing pension provision in the public sector, the next Government should be taking action to ensure that everyone has access to a decent pension.”