Pensions review 'may lead to tax rises'
Suspicions grow that government may use review of pensions system to raise taxes
Speculation is mounting that the government could use its review of the
pension system as a justification to raise taxes.
Lord Turner is expected to recommend that the retirement age is raised from
65 to 67 in order to reduce the current pension deficit, and that taxes and
pension contributions should be increased.
The report, published on 30 November, is also expected to increase the weekly
pension by about £20 and to recommend that workers be automatically enrolled
into a national savings plan when they start work.
The Conservatives claimed yesterday that an earlier review of the healthcare
system by Derek Wanless had been used as a smokescreen for national insurance
increases to plug gaps in public spending, and that the same might occur with
pension-related tax increases.