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"ANGER OVER PENSIONS

RICOCHETING OFF THE WALLS OF THE GREAT HALL"

read the Daily Echo after George Howe took Dave Higlett, of the Government’s National Pension Debate Team (pictured left), to task at Age Concern Hampshire’s Annual Conference and twentieth birthday celebrations in the Great Hall, Winchester in October. Earlier the “keynote address” had been given by Alison O’Connell, Director of the Pension Policy Institute (pictured right), and delegates had heard from Joe Harris the General Secretary of the National Pensioners Convention (pictured left). There was also a contribution from Mike Curry, an Independent Financial Adviser, (pictured left) and in his summing up Lawrie McMenemy, who took over as President from Her Grace the Duchess of Wellington who will remain a Patron, commented that he had been “coming to Age Concern Hampshire’s Conferences for five years and had never before experienced such controversy”

Helen Watson and ensemble (pictured right) helped Age Concern Hampshire celebrate its twentieth birthday and there were video greetings from, past speakers, Claire Raynor and Sir Patrick Moore and Chris Tarrant of “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire (pictured below). 

96% of delegates felt that older people should have an adequate income without means testing (compared with 90% in a recent national survey of 2,656 people) and 100% that the pre 1948 value should be restored by making the State Pension the equivalent of the Pension Credit. 91.6% believed the State Pension should be higher than this. Surprisingly, only 73.9% believed the earnings link should be restored to the State Pension.  

24% of delegates felt there should be a fixed retirement age, compared with 17% at the 2003 conference, and of these 50% felt that it should be raised to pay for higher pensions.

96% of delegates felt final salary occupational pensions should be preserved and 86.9% that the capping of the annual uplift for inflation at a maximum of 2.5%, contained in the 2004 Pension Act which came into effect on the 6^th April 2005, should be repealed. 86.9% felt the earnings link should be restored to occupational pensions compared with 95.4% at the 2003 “Worthy Of Work and pensions” conference.

73.9% felt the default retirement age of 65 years should be removed from the DRAFT regulations on “age discrimination in the workplace”, before they become law on October 1^st 2006 and, as in 2003, 100% felt older people should be allowed to go on working for as long as they choose or are able. Surprisingly, given the above, 11% felt that it was right that older people could be excluded from the workplace purely on age. However a resounding 89% thought they should not. 83.3% thought the age at which people could, if they chose draw their pension, was entirely separate to the age at which they should retire.

The conference was covered by Meridian Television and Alison O’Connell is pictured being interview by Keith Malone. Summing up was by Lawrie McMenemy

Next year’s conference will be in the Winchester Guildhall on Tuesday 17^th October when the topic will be “The Future Of Adult Social Care: Care Outside of Hospital” when the speakers will include Sir Ian Carruthers OBE, Chief Executive of the Strategic Health Authority, and Rea Mattocks, recently appointed Director of Adult Care for Hampshire County Council, Dr Derek Browne and Lawrie McMenemy.