Pension opt-out under consideration

The Government is considering allowing people to opt out of the basic state pension, Nick Scott, Minister of State for Social Security, confirmed. 'There is a case for examining whether the state scheme needs to continue as a universal benefit or whether some people could be allowed to opt out of it. It is certainly the sort of thing we will have to look at.

'People could say, 'I will take over the entire responsibility for my old-age provision and in doing so, I will be able to opt out of making contributions to the state system.' It is no longer unthinkable. It is the sort of thing we can no longer rule out automatically,' he said on the LWT television programme Crosstalk.