John McDonnell
Redwood asks if Government plans to Tax Homes to plug Pension Gap
Mr. John Redwood (Wokingham) (Con): Does the Minister accept that many people who receive pension credit do so because their private pension funds have been badly damaged by the Chancellor's tax increases? Does he accept that they do not regard as a solution an alternative pension policy that says they must work until they drop or sell their house to pay for their own pension? They do not want forced saving—they want their money back, as the Chancellor took it.
Mr. Blunkett: Perhaps I could lay to rest a misapprehension that Conservative Members have expressed throughout the afternoon, when they said that I have talked about people selling their own house. I was actually talking about realising a very large asset that someone has inherited from a relative. Like annuities, that asset could be realised when they wanted to spend the money. It is important that those people, as well as individuals considering their income in retirement, take that into account. If we could get that right we would all be a lot better off.
