TUC seeks "brave" approach to pensions

The Trades Union Congress (TUC) is calling on the government to tackle the pensions crisis with renewed "bravery".

The general secretary Brendan Barber acknowledged that politicians face tough decisions when making pensions policies.

And this is not made any easy by the fact that rival parties will unfailingly attack whatever the government proposes.

Therefore, Mr Barber feels an independent pensions commission needs to be established to represent all those involved in the pensions debate.

Speaking at a conference for pension fund trustees, Mr Barber said: "If it said we needed further compulsory savings or a slow phased tax increase as the only way to avoid poverty in old age then no-one could dismiss it."

More than anything, Mr Barber said, "bravery with objectives" was needed to tackle the spiralling pensions problem.

He also made it clear that the TUC was against increasing the age of retirement.

What was needed, he said was a simplified system: "More education, advice and information is clearly needed - and the TUC plays its part in this.

"A simpler system will help - and ministers have made some welcome moves here."

However, he conceded that simplification was not going to "lead to the huge increase in saving that we need".