Middle-class workers should retire later, says Labour

Party wants system to favour manual workers and those with poor health

MIDDLE-CLASS professionals should retire later than working-class people with manual jobs or poor health, Labour has suggested.

Alex Cunningham, the shadow work and pensions minister, said that the state pension age should reflect people’s health, income and the nature of their work.

He said the rising state pension age was “bad news”, particularly for the “poorest in our country and those with ill health”. In his Stockton North constituency, men in the poorest wards live on average 16 years less than those in affluent wards.

Mr Cunningham said: “The man in the poor ward may have started work at 16 and paid national insurance contributions throughout his adult life, and is more likely to have been in a physically demanding job and to have experienced ill health at a younger age.

“He may even be lucky to get the state pension for a handful of years before dying. Contrast that with a more affluent, professional person, who may not have started work until his 20s, who retired at 60 because he could afford to, and who picked up his state pension when he was still fit and healthy enough to enjoy it.”

Mr Cunningham called for a “variable” state pension age based on people’s background, wealth and income, with their retirement based on their life expectancy.

He said: “The proposal to raise the state pension age even further all but wipes out the chances of many of our people enjoying a few years of retirement in good health. The state pension should be flexible and recognise the contribution that people have made to our country.”

But Baroness Altmann, a Conservative peer and former pensions minister, warned that Labour’s approach could mean people who smoke or suffer from obesity could retire earlier.

She said: “I think Labour’s approach is too broad. You don’t want to incentivise people in any way to have an unhealthy lifestyle. Building lifestyle factors into the state pension isn’t right at all.”

Baroness Altmann said she favoured a flexible retirement age for those who are seriously ill or started working when they were 16 and have therefore paid national insurance for longer.

The state pension age is currently 67 and will rise to 68 in 2037. The change will affect everyone who is under the age of 47.

Guy Opperman, the current pensions minister, highlighted a recent review by John Cridland which concluded that the state pension age should remain universal.

He said: “The reality is that life expectancy has increased repeatedly across the country. It most definitely has increased across the country in all socioeconomic groups over the past 30 years, and for all constituent countries of the UK.

“Mr Cridland, who was independent, did extensive work on that point, concluding that a universal state pension age remained the best system, and the Government agree with that point.”