11 November 2005
New Work and Pensions Secretary John Hutton this week promised to produce proposals for overhauling UK pensions policy by the spring - giving the government adequate time to respond to the forthcoming Turner report.
Hutton, who was appointed on November 2 when David Blunkett resigned, said he would need time to reflect on the recommendations of the government's Pensions Commission, chaired by Lord Turner.
It is due to report on options for state, occupational and private retirement planning on November 30.
Speaking at a Department for Work and Pensions event in Manchester on November 8, Hutton said he expected Turner's study to be complex and lengthy, and added that, like his DWP predecessors, he had 'not ruled anything in or out' in terms of future government policy.
Turner, the former director general of the CBI business lobby, has said that his proposals could include people working longer, saving more and paying higher taxes to stave off a pensions crisis.
An estimated 11 million people are not saving enough for an adequate pension.
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