Pension fears over Tory plans to scrap National Insurance | Politics | News | EUROtoday

Older voters overwhelmingly need the Conservative Party to ditch long-term plans to abolish National Insurance over fears it’ll hit pensions.

The influential marketing campaign group Silver Voices says 99% of its members oppose the “ambition” which was introduced by Jeremy Hunt throughout this month’s Budget.

They say the transfer threatens the £124 billion-a-year state pension which is paid for by the £172 billion annual NI pot.

Silver Voices director Dennis Reed warned the strategic “miscalculation” may price the Tories votes on the common election.

He mentioned greater than 1600 over-60s have been surveyed final week, with virtually everybody against abolishing NI.

In his Budget the Chancellor introduced a 2p lower to NI along with the 2p lower unveiled in final yr’s Autumn Statement.

He additionally signalled it was the Tory Party’s intention to scrap National Insurance in the long term, labelling it as a “double taxation” on employees when mixed with revenue tax.

Mr Hunt has since denied that pensions can be hit and insisted his Budget has carried out an “enormous amount” for pensioners.

But Mr Reed believes that scrapping NI would unpick the entire foundation of the Welfare State and place the continuation of the common state pension in nice peril.

He mentioned: “The Conservatives may have made a major miscalculation in proposing the long-term abolition of National Insurance.

“They would be unpicking the basis of the agreement reached with the British People after the Second World War in setting up the Welfare State, and threatening the continuation of a universal state pension. If our poll is anything to go by, this will be a wildly unpopular proposal which is likely to lose them millions of older voters, despite their welcome commitment to the Triple Lock.

“I do not think that the implications of this last-minute addition to the Budget Speech have been fully thought through and urge the Government to wipe the slate clean and think again”.

It comes as new analysis from the Resolution Foundation reveals {that a} basic-rate pensioner may even see their above-inflation State Pension rise (£190) just about worn out by this April’s private allowance freeze (£170).

The Treasury has been requested for a remark.