13 September 2007
The Minister for Pensions Reform Mike O'Brien has issued an
article on the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) website
saying that people are not saving enough for retirement.
Mr O'Brien has said:
"When people ask me why this Government is overhauling the
pensions system, I have a simple answer - because people aren't
saving enough and they're in for a rude shock when they come to
retire.
It's a brutal truth, but with life expectancy growing,
expectations for retirement are growing with it. People are no
longer content with the quiet retirements enjoyed by their
grandparents. They aspire to such things as foreign holidays and
active social lives. But such aspirations can only be met if people
make private provision for their retirement.
So it's an uncomfortable fact that, despite the unprecedented
economic growth and stability this country has enjoyed for the last
10 years, about seven million people aren't saving enough for
retirement.
We had to tackle this problem of undersaving and that's why,
from 2012, millions of people will be automatically enrolled in a
system of personal accounts or a qualifying workplace pension
scheme."
