By
Vivienne Russell | 25 July 2011
The taxpayer will have to pay out £15,000 for each private sector employee not in a workplace pension scheme, Unison has warned.
The public sector union said today that the lack of provision in the private sector was the ‘real pensions crisis’.Two-thirds of private sector employees – 15 million people – are not in a pension scheme to which their employer contributes. This makes it more likely they have to rely on state benefits to top up their income once they retire.
Unison general secretary Dave Prentis said it was ‘shocking’ that so many private sector workers were not covered.
‘These companies are shirking their responsibilities to their workers, pushing the burden on to the taxpayer. For every worker locked out of saving for their retirement, the taxpayer could get stung for billions more in benefit payments,’ he said.
Prentis added that, rather than tackling ‘skinflint employers’, the government was using the lack of provision in the private sector as a stick with which to beat the public sector.
‘The latest round of attacks on public sector pensions is based on myths and ideology,’ he said.
‘Unless we bring all pensions up to a decent level, we are running the risk of condemning a generation of people into poverty in their retirement – and a huge burden on the taxpayer.’
