Dummies Guide to the Collapse of Decent Pensions

Check out this post by Tom in Labour & Capital which I think explains clearly and succinctly the real reasons for the decline in decent Defined Benefit or DB (aka final salary)  pension provision in this country in favour of the usually grossly inferior Defined Contribution or DC schemes.

This is Tom's rather bleak but I think largely accurate conclusion

"The private sector has not addressed the issue of longevity. It has simply passed the buck back onto the individual, whilst at the same time reducing its commitment. Moving from DB to DC does not.... err... affect how long people live. But it does affect who carries the risk, and how much they pay for it. In effect then, as Calvin suggests, the removal of DB is not much more than a deferred pay cut, affecting millions who don't realise it. It's as simple as that. And the Right's campaign to destroy DB in the public sector is nothing more than an argument for massive levelling down".