IN response to Pete Rowberry’s letter (April 9), there’s been no “change of language” regarding the state pension: State Retirement Pension is indeed a benefit and has been referred to as such for decades. It’s what’s known as a contributory benefit, although it’s paid irrespective of means.
As someone who trained with the Citizen Advice Bureau over 30 years ago and went on to do generalist then specialist advice work for 10 years, I can assure him of this.
The distinction he makes between his pension “entitlement” and benefits is a false one, as not only are some working-age benefits also contributory, but all benefits are entitlements for those who qualify for them. The social contract applies to all of us, regardless of our means or ability to pay National Insurance or income tax – in theory at least, if not now always in practice!
READ MORE: Open Minds on Independence #9: What happens to pensions after a Yes vote
That said, Pete’s right to be concerned about the prospect of cuts to the state pension. According to the Institute for Fiscal Studies, Rishi Sunak’s recent Budget included an 8% cut to unprotected departments, which – surprise surprise – includes the DWP. Tory-led governments have cut around £37 billion from working-age benefits the past 10 years, so their sights are bound to be on benefits paid to pensioners, which have amounted to almost half of total social security spending for years now.
Ian Duncan Smith floated the idea of doing away with the triple lock as long ago as 2016, and early on in the pandemic last year a Tory spokesperson was quoted as having said something similar. I reckon we can expect more divisive rhetoric followed by further cuts, but this time also aimed at pensioners. After all, they’ve got to claw back the largesse they lavished on us during the pandemic somehow, while protecting the economic model that serves their rich chums, haven’t they?!
And they say independence isn’t relevant to people’s day-to-day lives – aye, right.
Mo Maclean
Glasgow
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