"Serious risk to pensions if Scotland breaks away from the UK" – David Stewart MSP

17th June 2013

The payment of state and work pensions is at risk if Scotland breaks away from the UK, said MSP David Stewart.

The regional representative spoke out after fears were raised about how payments would be made to the 16,600 pensioners in the Caithness, Sutherland and Ross area in the event of Scotland going it alone.

In the last week concerns about the implications for pensions of breaking up Britain have been expressed by Scotland’s accountants ICAS and the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries, trade union Community, pension campaigners, academics and even the SNP’s own expert welfare group.

David Stewart MSP said:“The SNP have serious questions to answer about the future of pensions in a separate Scotland. Local people want answers to the serious questions repeatedly raised by experts about what will happen to pensions if we break away from the rest of the UK.
There are 16,600 pensioners in Caithness, Sutherland and Ross who rely on their state and work pension to make ends meet, yet this is at risk if we break away from the UK.

The SNP admit in private that we benefit from being part of the UK and now their own expert group say that the payment of pensions would be put at serious risk if we go it alone. Can we really afford to take the risk?

Our pensions system is a complex, integrated, cross-border system that can’t easily be broken up. By pooling our resources across the UK we can share the burden of funding and administering benefits and pensions. The only way to guarantee that we keep the shared UK pensions system is to stay in the UK.”