Make the elderly work for their pensions, says peer

Old people should do community work in return for their pensions and be stripped of some cash if they refuse, according to a senior peer.

Lord Bichard, a former head of the Benefits Agency, said younger pensioners could be asked to help care for the burgeoning population of very elderly and frail people.

Such a policy would stop the elderly becoming a “burden on the State”, he argued at a House of Lords committee hearing into the impact of the greying society.

“We are now prepared to say to people who are not looking for work, if you don’t look for work you don’t get benefits,” he said.

“So if you are old and you are not contributing in some way or another, maybe there is some penalty attached to that.” He asked: “Are we using all of the incentives at our disposal to encourage older people not just to be a negative burden on the state but actually be a positive part of society?”

Lord Bichard, 65, is a career civil servant who has also headed the Department for Education. He is better known for chairing the 2004 inquiry into the Soham murders. He now sits in the House of Lords as a crossbencher.

After the meeting he was asked if his idea would be difficult to sell to the public and replied: “So was tuition fees.”

Other experts told the committee that the burden of caring for the elderly could require tax rises or cuts in other areas. Dr Martin Weale, a member of the Bank of England’s monetary policy committee, said savings were needed to meet the rising cost of the NHS and pensions as people live longer.