A pension system that is unfair and unaffordable | Letters
Guardian readers respond to an article by Zoe Williams which argued that cutting the welfare bill should start with pensionsZoe Williams seeks to stimulate a debate about pensions and intergenerational...
By Guardian Staff · The Guardian Opinion
Guardian readers respond to an article by Zoe Williams which argued that cutting the welfare bill should start with pensions Zoe Williams seeks to stimulate a debate about pensions and intergenerational inequality, but seems to have overlooked the issues surrounding the funding of public-sector defined-benefit (DB) pension schemes ( All this talk about ‘difficult’ cuts, yet the largest part of Britain’s welfare bill is never mentioned. Why?, 21 May ). Such schemes place enormous pressure on public finances; they typically require a more significant employer contribution – often more than 25% – compared with private-sector defined-contribution (DC) schemes, where employer contributions of around 3%-8% are typical. Continue reading...