Give pensioners a fair deal says Thurso
April 21, 2010 12:00 AM
Speaking in Keiss John Thurso has called for a fair deal for pensioners and set out the Liberal Democrats' plans to help the elderly.
"Most pensioners today started their working lives in an age when it was accepted that they could rely on their contributions to the State to fund their retirement. Today they find that that contract has been broken by successive governments and they face an old age under an unfair system they can do nothing about."
"The Liberal Democrats recognise this unfairness and make two commitments to give immediate help towards a fair deal for pensioners. First an immediate return to the link between pensions and earnings with a promise to uprate pensions annually by the earnings link, or 2.5%, or price inflation, whichever is higher. This will guarantee pensioners will not fall behind in future and will over time restore the value of pensions. Second our proposal to lift the tax threshold to £10,000 will mean that most pensioners who have modest savings will be lifted out of tax and would benefit by up to £700 a year. Taken together these measures will give pensioners a fairer deal."
"The current system of credits is also unfair in the way it works. In my constituency advice clinics over the last five years I have met many people who have suffered from the complexity of tax credits, finding themselves through no fault of their own having demands to pay money back. It cannot be right to ask people to undertake complex calculations when even the tax man cannot get them right. It also cannot be right to help people and then demand the money back, causing real anxiety. That is why we will simplify the system by fixing payment for six months taking away the stress and worry and giving people reasonable certainty."
It is also important to help encourage people to save for themselves. A great stain on this Labour government has been its failure to honour the government's obligations to compensate for its failings over Equitable Life. We undertake to meet that commitment with a simple and fair scheme which would swiftly bring this long saga to a close."
"Pensioners who have relied on the State to take care of their retirement and contributed on that basis can do nothing about the unfairness of being let down by both Labour and Tory governments. A Liberal Democrat government will ensure they get a fairer deal in the future."
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