State pension needs to rise but be means tested, says ex-Bank of England economist

David Blanchflower said for those relying on the state pension, the payment was 'very low' and needed to rise, but that it would probably need means testingand will probably need to consider an element of means testing too, a former Bank of England economist has said.

But he said this was “not so much” the case for those with significant private pensions who owned their own home.“I think there is a major poverty issue in the UK. For those solely dependent on state pensions and other benefits the levels look very low – not so much for those who own their houses and have private pensions,” he said.

According to research commissioned by the pensions industry, a single person will need to be able to spend about £14,000 a year to achieve the minimum living standard in retirement, which is higher than the state pension level. Figures suggest that median annual earnings for full-time employees are £34,963, so those on double this are earning around £70,000 or over, and pay a 40 per cent rate on their income above £50,270 per year.Tom Selby, director of public policy at investment platform AJ Bell, said: “Means testing the state pension is a nice idea in theory but once you get into the practicalities, it could become a bit of a nightmare.

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