Owen Smith, Labour’s Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary, commenting on the launch of Professor Blake’s Independent Review of Retirement Income, said:

“Professor Blake’s review highlights major challenges that need to be addressed by the government if we are to ensure people can retire with sufficient funds to live with dignity in later life. 

“This expert review asks serious questions about the sustainability of our current pensions system, and the increased risks being borne by individuals after recent Government reforms. The relative popularity of the pensions freedoms reforms should not obscure those questions and Professor Blake is right to challenge Government and employers to play their part in mitigating the danger that pensioners who have saved all their lives might still have insufficient funds to last them through retirement.   

“These problems are only growing for younger generations who are finding it increasingly difficult to put aside the 15 per cent of lifetime earnings that Blake reminds us is needed for an adequate pension. Under George Osborne it has been ever more difficult for people to save, with British workers seeing the slowest growth in pay for a century and falling rates of homeownership. 

“The Chancellor should address these risks in his forthcoming Budget and resist any temptation to stealthily raid long term pension provisions to offset any short term political problems caused by his mismanagement of the deficit. The Chancellor should be incentivising increased saving, not reducing people’s capacity to put aside funds for retirement.

“Professor Blake’s independent report is an important piece of work in setting out the long term factors that will affect the future of pension policy in this country.  I am hugely grateful that such leading experts in their field agreed to this task and have delivered such a thoughtful report. We will use the strong foundations laid down to build a Labour pensions policy that will prepare Britain for the long term and protect the interests of workers, pensioners and wider society.”