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Up to a basic level, it can be argued that there are public benefits from encouraging pension saving, as otherwise the state and taxpayer could end up having to do more of the job. But tax relief is worth most to the highest paid and goes disporportionately to them. For instance, a higher rate taxp…

[...] while it makes sense to protect state pensions, better-off pensioners could contribute more through the tax system. But the politics of this are fraught--when George Osborne announced the end of the extra tax-free allowance for those aged over 65, it was instantly condemned as a 'granny tax'.…

The equity issue--and the challenge for polices in a range of years--is not simply of one fortunate generation versus another. It is about the advantages of the better-off half of baby-boomers compared to_both_ poor baby-boomers and to those members of younger generations who do not stand to inhe…

• they can act as disincentive to additional earnings;
• they can give an incentive to behaviour that reduces reported income (including misreporting of circumstances to slip below particular thresholds);
• they can lead to feelings of injustice, if those just below a threshold are treated much …

[...] Today, social housing--rented out at below market rates by councils and not-for-profit housing associations--is in many people's minds synonymous with housing people with low incomes. But it was not always like that--back in 1979, more than 30 per cent of people with incomes in the top half…