Borders MP: Pensioners must not be ignored as economic downturn bites (North Tayside Liberal Democrats)

North Tayside Liberal Democrats <info@libdems.org.uk>

Borders MP: Pensioners must not be ignored as economic downturn bites

April 30, 2009 12:52 PM
Originally published by Scottish Liberal Democrats

With figures released this week by the Pensions Policy Institute (PPI) revealing that pensioners get relatively poorer as they get older, local MP Michael Moore has warned the government that thousands of vulnerable elderly people need additional financial support to cope with the impact of the economic downturn.

In a letter to the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, James Purnell, Mr Moore asked that more be done to protect the income of older savers hit hard by repeated falls in interest rates, and asked again that the government make time in the Parliamentary calendar for this issue to be debated on the floor of the House.Michael Moore MP

Commenting, Mr Moore said:

'These latest statistics from the PPI make sombre reading for pensioners across the Borders. We need to see short term intervention from the government to protect the income of savers, accompanied by longer term reforms to an increasingly convoluted and inadequate pensions system.

'The basic state pension is simply too little to live on for the millions of pensioners who have no other income. Pensioners should not be forced to rely on complex means-tested benefits in their retirement, which has many put many off from even claiming.

'Although the recent interest cuts have helped many by significantly reducing the cost of borrowing, I remain unconvinced that sufficient attention has been given to the effect these changes have had on pensioners in the Borders and across the UK'.