Photograph: Daniel Berehulak/Getty Images
Tony Blair says it's a "landmark day" for pensions, and many people will be feeling the impact for years to come. Plans to increase the state pension age to 68 by 2050 mean that those in their early 20s will probably have to work three years longer than their parents before claiming benefits. They will also have to take more responsibility for their retirement planning than some previous generations.
Mr Blair said he wanted to make it easy for people to build on the state's pension provision "by their own thrift and endeavour with their own private savings", making several mentions of the importance of private provision. The white paper includes plans to automatically enrol workers in low-cost schemes in which they are obliged to save a percentage of their earnings. They will be given the chance to opt out, but the logic is that people are less likely to leave a scheme once they are a member than they are to actively set up a pension.
Those who do stay in the scheme will receive contributions from their employer and the taxman that effectively double how much they pay in. So for those who can afford to contribute and don't already have a more generous scheme from their employer, this sounds like good news. But for those who are struggling to make ends meet, including students with debts to pay, the problems of making private pension provision will remain the same.
For those who will still be reliant on the state in retirement, the white paper offers the promise of a higher state pension and less means testing. It outlines plans to restore the link between the basic state pension and earnings, and to ensure that more women and carers are entitled to a full pension. However, it retains the complex system of a basic pension topped up with a second state pension, albeit one that will eventually be changed to a flat-rate payment.
The restoration of the earnings link is what raising the state pension age will pay for, and it has been the cause of most of the arguments about whether Lord Turner's recommendations should be accepted.
The white paper suggests the government has been able to reach a consensus, but the proposals still need to go through Parliament so will need to be agreed by other parties. Mr Blair said his government had tried to approach reform in a non-partisan way, and issued a rallying cry for people to back the plans: "If we can crack this as a country, we will be doing something probably most countries have not been able to do."
So what do you think? Has the government been radical enough? Do you even expect to notice the difference these reforms will make, or are you putting off thinking about retirement until another day?
