Work and pensions secretary John Hutton today launched a national debate on saving for retirement.

The move follows publication of Lord Turner's government commissioned review of pensions policy last year, which recommended raising the state pension retirement age over the next 50 years and re-linking payments with average earnings.

Stakeholder Response: Carers UK

Emily Holzhausen, public affairs manager of Carers UK, said: "Whilst there is much in Turner that is good for carers, we have still not seen the step change needed to achieve anything like equality.

"A major consultation and a National Pensions Day is a great opportunity for government to really listen to the voices of carers. I hope that they do so.

"Carers UK welcomes the Turner report's recognition that the pension system needs to be more flexible if it is to deliver for people with caring responsibilities and interrupted working lives.

"Turner suggests improvements to the second state pension, with greater flexibility and contributions for carers.

"Government must go further to stop the injustice of poverty in retirement for carers, who contribute a staggering £57bn to the economy of the UK by the care they provide.

"Any future pension reform must recognise that it is not enough to ask carers to save for retirement.

"Eighty per cent of carers are of working age. One in five carers of working age has given up work to care Health inequalities for carers are well documented, with carers providing long hours of care being twice as likely to be permanently sick or disabled.

"We need a whole raft of policies to work together to ensure that carers who wish to work are able to do so and those who cannot are given protection for their pensions.

"The government must take on the challenge of ensuring that those who contribute to society by caring are not discriminated against in retirement".

Stakeholder Response: Age Concern

Gordon Lishman, Age Concern’s director general, said: "The Pensions Commissions’ report has reignited the pensions debate and given the government a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to radically reform the pensions system so that everyone can look forward to a decent income in retirement.

"It is essential that an open, well informed pensions debate now takes place nationwide so that everyone can have their say on the options for reform.

"Millions of people could be affected by the decisions made by the government so it is crucial that their views are taken into account.

"The future of our pensions system is far too important to be decided by politicians and academics alone.

"We would urge the government to listen carefully to public opinion on the issues and respond quickly and boldly with a White Paper.

"Without decisive action, public faith in pensions will remain low, the current savings crisis will spiral out of control and the value of the basic state pension will continue to decline.

"For once, consumer groups, industry and employers are in agreement: radical reform of the pensions system is urgently needed to give everyone the opportunity of a decent income in retirement and protect women, carers and the most disadvantaged in society."

Stakeholder Response: Which?

Mick McAteer, principal policy adviser at Which? said: "We welcome the debate, but we need tough action to ensure that we have a fair, sustainable, affordable, and efficient pension system that has the trust and confidence of consumers.

"We don't have that system at the moment. The reasons for why we face a pensions crisis are well documented in our Blueprint for a National Pensions Policy, and in the sterling work of the Pensions Commission and don't need to be revisited.

"We believe the debate should not be about why we have a pensions crisis but how to implement the recommendations of the Pensions Commission.

"As a nation we are not providing enough for the future.

"Voluntarism and 'encouragement' simply hasn't and won't work.

"Some form of compulsion is needed to ensure that employers and individuals put enough into pensions to ensure a decent retirement for all and avoid landing future generations with a huge pensions bill.

"One of the key reasons why consumers aren't providing enough for the future is the abject failure of the retail pensions industry to provide decent, affordable, cost-effective and secure pensions for the mass market of ordinary consumers.

"Consumers and the taxpayer have paid a huge price in terms of mis-selling, high charges and wasted tax-relief.

"That's why Which? and the Pensions Commission recommend a National Pension Savings Scheme to make the financial markets work in the consumer and national economic interest.

"Relying on the existing pensions industry could reduce the value of ordinary consumers pensions by 30 per cent compared to the efficient National Pension Savings Scheme approach which has been successfully adopted in other countries who are well ahead of the UK in facing up to future challenges.

"The NPSS is a better way of sharing risk, too. It provides consumers with the security and opportunity to provide for the future.

"The government now needs to be firm with powerful vested interests who have already started to try to undermine the Pensions Commission's recommendations.

"The sad thing is that we've been here before with stakeholder pensions. When first mooted in 1997, the original concept of stakeholder pensions was closer to the Pensions Commissions recommendations but the powerful insurance lobby undermined this and we ended up with a retail personal pension product which the industry couldn't sell to the governments target market as shareholder expectations wouldn't allow it.

"We've wasted nearly a decade on a huge flawed experiment, we must get it right now. We owe a responsibility to current and future generations of citizens.

"The National Pensions Savings Scheme as proposed by Lord Turner gets our full support."

Stakeholder Response: Chartered Management Institute

Petra Cook, head of public affairs at the Chartered Management Institute, said: "Looking at the changing demographics, approximately 80 per cent of the workforce for 2020 is already in employment.

This means that individuals must now plan their careers in a new light. The days of a single, linear career are over and employees must take some responsibility for creating new opportunities and challenges in their later working lives.

"But, in order for this to happen, organisations will have to adapt to ensure that older workers are treated as an asset and offered greater flexibility.

"And in practice this will mean organisations focusing on upskilling and reskilling their current workforce, with retention of skills being the key driver of retirement policy.

"In particular, we feel that today's launch of a national debate on saving for retirement is vital.

"Our research has shown that while 70 per cent of employers anticipate that the age of retirement for the average person in 10 year’s time will be 66 or older, 80 per cent expect that they will personally retire by the age of 65.

"This clearly demonstrates the need to influence personal mindsets about age and work and for many to review their career expectations and financial planning."

Stakeholder Response: Help the Aged

Mervyn Kohler, head of public affairs at Help the Aged, said: "The Pensions Commission report was a package, which called for action to improve the state pension arrangements and improve private pension savings, and which proposed paying for these reforms with a modest extension of the working life.

"In principle, Help the Aged is supportive of this approach, recognising that there are trade-offs to be made if we are to earn the decent pensions which all of us want.

"However, whilst the Commission rightly calls for action on all parts of the package, the exact details and speed of implementation are to some degree negotiable, which is why it is important to have a national debate.

"In that debate, a priority for Help the Aged will be that we achieve a simpler, clearer pension system which is fair to today's pensioners and addresses the too widespread problem of pensioner poverty while at the same time offers tomorrow's pensioners a fair deal."