Catherwood LibraryILR School

In the latest chapter of the British labor movement’s battle over pensions with British employers and Prime Minister Tony Blair’s ‘New Labour’ government (see WIT’s for Sept. 5 and Sept. 10, 2002), evidence has come to light lending significant weight to demands by Britain’s Trades Union Congress for mandatory employer pension plans. Compiled by Britain’s Department for Work and Pensions and recently brought to light by the pension spokesman for the Liberal Democrat party, the data show that over the past decade the poorest fifth of the British population has experienced increasing difficulty in saving for retirement. The figures reveal the inadequacy of current programs involving incentives for individual private saving, among a large segment of the population that cannot afford to save for their retirement.