THE TUC yesterday claimed that one in five workers would die before receiving a pension if the Government caves in to industry calls to raise the retirement age to 70.
The unions said that one in three men would miss out on a pension if the age is raised (on average, men die before women). Almost half of workers in deprived areas would suffer a similar fate.
Brendan Barber, the TUC general secretary, said: “Many commentators tell us that we can solve the pensions crisis if we all work longer before we retire. But these figures show that many will have to work until they literally drop if the retirement age is increased to 70.”
The Government has been beset by calls from industry to raise the retirement age in a bid to ease the growing pensions crisis.
Experts fear that Britain’s ageing population will place an unsustainable burden on the state. Alan Pickering, the Government’s own pension adviser, and the National Association of Pension Funds are among the voices which have called for a rethink on retirement age.
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The TUC found that Hackney, in London, would be the borough most affected by a rise in pension age, as 48.3 per cent of men die before their 70th birthday. Generally, Londoners, followed by those in the North West and the North, would be the biggest losers.