Public sector pensions review published

Labour peer John Hutton has today delivered his final recommendations on public sector pensions.

The independent review looked at changing pension arrangements to achieve long term sustainability and fairness while protecting accrued rights. Without reform, the unfunded pensions bill is set to rise to £33 billion by 2015-16.

Introducing his report, Lord Hutton said:

“I believe it is possible for public service employees to continue to have access for the foreseeable future, to good quality, sustainable and fairer defined benefit pension schemes.

“For this to happen there will need to be comprehensive reform – reforms that can balance the legitimate concerns of taxpayers about the present and future cost of pension commitments in the public sector as well as the wider need to ensure decent levels of retirement income for millions of people who have devoted their working lives in the service of the public.”