Entitled “Freedom, Fairness and Responsibility’, the Coalition Government yesterday published its key policy plans in its Programme for Government (PfG).  The document covers many areas from political reform, public health, tackling the deficit and also includes a section on Pensions and Older People and Social Care and Disability. 

 

 

The Government believes that people deserve dignity and respect in old age, and that they should be provided with the support they need. That means safeguarding key benefits and pensions, and taking action to make it easier for older people to work or volunteer.

 

Ø We will restore the earnings link for the basic state pension from April 2011, with a ‘triple guarantee’ that pensions are raised by the higher of earnings, prices or 2.5%;

Ø We will commit to establishing an independent commission to review the longterm affordability of public sector pensions, while protecting accrued rights;

Ø We will phase out the default retirement age and hold a review to set the date at which the state pension age starts to rise to 66, although it will not be sooner than 2016 for men and 2020 for women. We will end the rules requiring compulsory annuitisation at 75;

Ø We will implement the Parliamentary and Health Ombudsman’s recommendation to make fair and transparent payments to Equitable Life policy holders, through an independent payment scheme, for their relative loss as a consequence of regulatory failure;

Ø We will explore the potential to give people greater flexibility in accessing part of their personal pension fund early;

Ø We will protect key benefits for older people such as the winter fuel allowance, free TV licences, free bus travel, and free eye tests and prescriptions;

Ø We will simplify the rules and regulations relating to pensions to help reinvigorate occupational pensions, encouraging companies to offer high-quality pensions to all employees, and we will work with business and the industry to support auto enrolment.

 

 

The Government believes that people needing care deserve to be treated with dignity and respect. We understand the urgency of reforming the system of social care to provide much more control to individuals and their carers, and to ease the cost burden that they and their families face.

 

Ø We will establish a commission on long-term care, to report within a year. The commission will consider a range of ideas, including both a voluntary insurance scheme to protect the assets of those who go into residential care, and a partnership scheme as proposed by Derek Wanless;

Ø We will break down barriers between health and social care funding to incentivise preventative action;

Ø We will extend the greater roll-out of personal budgets to give people and their carers more control and purchasing power;

Ø We will use direct payments to carers and better community-based provision to improve access to respite care;

Ø We will reform Access to Work, so disabled people can apply for jobs with funding already secured for any adaptations and equipment they will need.