Tardy self-assessors told to 'act quickly'

Date: 7th July 2010

Public sector pension reforms should have been implemented "years ago" as there is an "appalling lack of transparency", according to one expert.

This could encourage a number of people to seek equity release advice in order to find out how the value of their property could boost their retirement income.

The Public Sector Pensions Commission recently published a report, which made a number of recommendations including increasing employee contributions among public sector workers.

Mark Littlewood, director-general of the Institute of Economic Affairs, welcomed the proposals and called on the coalition to take "urgent action".

"Successive governments have avoided this issue for far too long. The establishment of another commission to look at this issue may simply prolong the implementation of reforms which should have been implemented years ago," he said.

"I urge John Hutton to examine and embrace this report's conclusions. In particular employee contributions should be increased and a decentralised approach to future funding adopted."

Key Retirement Solutions' equity release calculator could help a number of homeowners aged over 55 years find out how the value of their home could provide them with a tax-free cash lump sum.

Posted by Alison Stephenson