Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of defined benefit pension schemes for public sector workers on the public purse; and whether she plans to review the balance between defined benefit and defined contribution pension schemes across the (a) public and (b) private sectors.

In line with the Independent Public Service Pensions Commission’s report in 2011, the Government’s central measure of the affordability of public service pensions is long-term public service pension spending as a share of GDP. In its Fiscal Risk and Sustainability Report 2024, the OBR projects that this measure will fall from 1.9% in 2023-24 to 1.4% in 2073-74.

The Government has established a new Pensions Commission, to support a strong, sustainable and fair pension system that secures a financially secure retirement for millions of private sector pensioners into the middle of this century.