The TUC believes that the government should reverse its decision to raise the state pension age in light of new evidence on life expectancy projections, and instead set up an independent commission to examine inequalities in life expectancy and their effect on people's retirement incomes.
TUC General Secretary Frances O'Grady said:
"'The government's decision to accelerate the rise in the state pension age will mean millions of people having to work for longer in order to receive less in retirement.
"There is already a shocking divide in life expectancies across England, and if current trends continue that inequality will get worse in the coming decades. The government's pension reforms will add to the problem, with people in richer areas receiving more from the state, while those in poorer areas receive less.
"It cannot be right that people living in a wealthy area can receive tens of thousands of pounds more in state pension than someone living in a less well off part of the country, particularly as richer people are likely to have earned more during the career and have a bigger private pension too.
"The government should abandon its plan to raise the state pension age in light of the new evidence on projected life expectancies. It should instead set up an independent commission to examine health inequalities and the impact on people's expected retirement incomes."
