David Linden: 'The huge rise in pre-pension poverty is concerning'

As developed countries struggle with the challenges of ageing populations, it’s a worrying sign when we are being used as a cautionary tale of the wrong approach.

Yet the statistics are undeniable, with the Institute for Fiscal Studies finding last year that the rise in State Pension age from 65 to 66 caused absolute income poverty rates among single 65-year-olds to rise to 38% - 22 points higher than the 16% they would have been otherwise.

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This huge rise in pre-pension poverty is particularly concerning given the meagre State Pension that people finally receive – one of the least generous in the developed world.

This week, the CEO of energy watchdog Ofgem offered a stark indication of how the cost-of-living crisis has worsened things, revealing data that shows those relying on the State Pension will spend 29% of their disposable income this year keeping their homes warm and well-lit.

And now, the British Government is secretly planning more misery by turbo-changing changes to the State Pension age, bringing it to 68 by the early 2030s.

With life expectancy stalling there is only one reason why the Tories would be contemplating such a cruel move.

The elephant in the room is the enormous black hole in the public finances – one largely resulting from 13 years of austerity and a hard Tory Brexit that Scotland rejected.

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In 2014, you were warned that the only way to protect your pension was by voting No.

Fast forward nine years and the current State Pension doesn’t even support the minimum standard of living.

In 2014, you were promised a ‘UK dividend’ if you voted No to independence and I regret to advise you that this is it.

You are being forced to work longer to help balance the books of an incompetent government primarily engaged in serving its own interests.

At Whitehall, you are regarded as little more than numbers on a spreadsheet.

And let’s face it – they’re going to keep squeezing you.

The Centre for Social Justice, a think-tank founded by Iain Duncan-Smith and which has great influence over Tory policy-makers, has proposed increasing the State Pension age much further to 75.

If you’re holding out hope that the Labour party might save you from this Tory catastrophe, think again.

I find it incredibly alarming that Labour’s Shadow DWP Secretary, Jonathan Ashworth MP, has been cosying up to that same Centre for Social Justice lately.

His recent keynote speech on Labour’s plans for welfare reform was delivered at the right-wing organisation’s headquarters – a worrying sign that if Keir Starmer wins the next election, we’ll see the completion of the party’s transformation from New Labour to the New Tories.

Be in no doubt, for as long as Scotland remains under Westminster control, our pensions will continue to be under threat.

In 2014, Scots were told to vote No to independence because the UK provides better protection for pensioners but since then, Westminster has failed to deliver.

Free TV licences for over-75s have been scrapped.

Pension Credit cuts have left some of the poorest older people up to £7000 worse off.

Rishi Sunak’s shameless breach of the Triple Lock has resulted in the State Pension being cut by over £500 per year.

Liz Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng sunk the economy, causing the Bank of England to take emergency measures to save pension funds from collapse.

And we must not forget the most shocking betrayal of all – to women born in the 1950s who have had years of their State Pension stolen from them through the maladministration and bad faith of successive Labour and Tory governments.

And when Westminster pushes up the State Pension age again, it is women who will suffer most as it is they who, statistically, are less likely to have a good private pension.

The pensions problem that the UK, New Zealand, and other countries are grappling with has got to be approached from a much more compassionate and sensible position. And we need serious economic strategy instead of Westminster’s back-of-an-envelope approach to fiscal planning.

The Tories took us out of the EU knowing full well the damage it would cause and the hit our GDP would take.

It is all of us who are paying the price and neither the Tories nor Labour are willing to admit that Brexit won’t work.

Rather than be honest with us, both parties patronise use with their three-word slogans.

Here’s a much more accurate one for them: “Brexit screwed us”.

I doubt either will have the courage or integrity to put that on an election leaflet.

When it comes to your pension, the only real way to protect it is through serious governance, sensible economic strategy, and a plan to build real prosperity.

Westminster has proven time and time again that it isn’t going to deliver for the people of Scotland and it certainly isn’t going to look after them in retirement.

As part of the United Kingdom, we can be certain of one thing – that the State Pension age will keep soaring so that fewer live to see it.

Scotland can choose a different, fairer future with independence.

Your future depends on it.