Skip to main content
Legal news

Hutton's recommendations call for greater pension contributions

Jonathan Winston Jonathan Winston
2 min read

A new report by former Labour minister Lord Hutton, has recommended that six million public sector workers make a greater contribution to their pensions as well as calling for the end of final salary schemes and raising the retirement age for public sector pensions in the longer term.

The peer was asked by the coalition government to conduct the inquiry and his report says that some public sector schemes are completely out of step with life in the 21st century, especially as some people now spend as much as 40% of their life in retirement.

Now Chancellor George Osborne will decide how much more public sector workers will have to contribute to their pensions schemes with a decision expected in the comprehensive spending review on October 20. Lord Hutton said that the only way to raise money immediately was to raise contributions, although the final salary schemes and the pensionable retirement age will have to be fully considered at some stage.

He said that there is now an unhealthy divide, with current public sector workers able to retire at 60 and new entrants working until they are 65. He also criticised final salary schemes, saying they are unfair to the majority and can lead to high flyers getting almost twice as much as those on more modest earnings.

TUC general secretary Brendan Barber responded to Lord Hutton’s proposals, by highlighting the current situation facing public sector workers. He said: “Public servants are facing a pay freeze, are in fear of their jobs and working harder to cover staff who have not been replaced. Throwing in worse pensions in retirement and reduced take home pay at a time when inflation is regularly busting the Bank of England target adds up to a toxic cocktail. As Britain's bankers get back to bonuses as usual, ministers should not be surprised at an angry reaction.”

Client feedback

I am very pleased with the service I received from Winstons, this is the second time I have dealt with them for conveyancing services and on both occasions Leasa was incredibly thorough and reassured me every step of the way. When other parties failed to deliver, Leasa ensured things were chased up and delivered/received with accuracy. I would highly recommend and will be sure to use Winston's again for any future property purchases
Charis
Would highly recommend Winston's.Both Leasa and Julie were extremely professional and we recieved regular email and direct call updates.In the middle of an extremely challenging chain, they went above and beyond and became intermediary's liasing with everyone else in order to get the conveyancing completed on time.Thanks again for a great service.Regards
Richard
My conveyancer Samantha and her associate Michelle kept me informed of the progress of my sale throughout the transaction. It was of benefit to me that the Winston office was local with plenty of parking. I would recommend them for any conveyancing
Ms H
Winston’s acted for us with our house sale and onward purchase. They have been excellent from start to finish. Leasa is extremely quick to respond to emails and more than happy to answer any questions. The online system is very efficient and helps keep you up to date with progress of the sale/purchase. Leasa and her team made the whole process so much less stressful than it could’ve been and we can’t thank them enough. We wouldn’t hesitate to recommend them.
Lucy
Teresa and Judith assisted with my recent divorce and i cannot rate them highly enough, i was talked through every aspect and everything was explained in full and i was kept fully updated and imformed of everything that i needed to do and when it was required for. Their patience when i was working away and understanding was especially appreciated.Once that was all complete Amanda and Samantha and the convayensing team sorted the transfer of the house and the paperwork associated with that.I would highly recommend them and thier company for any legal issues you have and would use thier services again without hesitation.
Richard J
Special praise for Emily Spencer ,who is more than efficient , very thorough in her work and I am sure , a very good member of the Winstons team ! Well done her ( plus Jeremy re our registration with the Land Registry .!)
Stuart
A helpful and thorough service that meant I felt confident that the house sale would be handled well.
Helen
Amazing service!
Anonymous
Contact Jonathan