Liberal Democrats celebrate 100 years of the basic state pension

8.12.08pm BST (GMT +0100) Mon 15th Sep 2008

Henry listening to seniors in Bedford

This afternoon the Liberal Democrats celebrated the 100th anniversary of the basic state pension from which many people in Bedford have benefited and continue to benefit.

At conference Henry Vann expressed his concern that despite recent reforms, in 2018 around 2.6 million or almost half the women over pension age, will still not be entitled to the full Basic State Pension and that the value of the Basic State Pension in comparison to average earnings is now lower than thirty years ago. The Conference heard that 2.2 million of today's pensioners live in poverty and by 2010 over half of pensioners will be reliant on complex and intrusive means-tested benefits to make ends meet.

Conference reaffirmed the Liberal Democrat commitment to delivering security and dignity in retirement for every citizen, creating a simple, coherent pension system which everyone can understand, ensuring the pension system is equitable and does not discriminate between men and women and guaranteeing pensioners a defined income in retirement to make sure they benefit from every penny they save.

Conference agreed:

• The centenary of the state pension to be marked by the immediate reintroduction of the link between the Basic State Pension and earnings.

• The state to honour its responsibility to keep every pensioner out of poverty by moving towards the introduction of a Citizen's Pension, based on residency not contributions.

• The end of mass means-testing of pensioners, so that every working adult can have the confidence that they will receive the full benefit of additional provision that they make for themselves.

Speaking from Bournemouth, Henry Vann celebrated the 100th anniversary of the state pension by saying:

"The decision by the Liberal Government of 1908 led to introduction of the first state pension to guarantee an income for those people too old to work. This was a bold and progressive policy to deliver financial security for the poorest pensioners.

"However in recent years the state pension system has become overly complex and difficult to understand, in 1980 Margaret Thatcher's Conservative Government broke the link between earnings and pensions resulting in the diminishing value of pensions in relation to earnings, we now see the mass means-testing of pensioners and many living in poverty."