Pensions Bill
9:30 am
Niki Cleal: May I just add to that? The point behind the question is a very important one. There is an implicit assumption within our modelling that today’s benefit structure will still exist in 30 or 40 years’ time. That is a strong assumption. It is easier to point out some of the implications for people when they are that bit closer to retirement, when they can make an informed judgment about how likely it is that the Government are going to change the benefit structure—within the next five years is a much shorter time horizon than a 40-year prospect.
That said, our analysis has shown that the issue is much less acute for younger people in general. In a sense the analysis suggests that, for younger people in general, this is less of an issue anyway. It is more of an issue for older people in particular circumstances.