Ministers are reported to be on the verge of a pledge to provide state pensions based on residency, rather than national insurance contributions.

The move towards a "citizen's pension" will particularly help parents, usually women, who take time out of work to care for children, who are losing out in retirement.

Party Response: Conservative

David Willetts, shadow secretary for work and pensions, said: "Many women don’t get a fair deal from state pensions and this needs to change.  But replacing national insurance pensions with just another state benefit is throwing the baby out with the bathwater.

"We have already put forward practical proposals for giving women a better deal from contributory pensions.  Instead, Labour prefer to say that all you should have to do to qualify for a state pension is to have lived here for a few years.