Senior Labour peer backs public sector pension reforms...

[dutchman]

The downgrading of Britain's growth forecasts has made the case for public sector pensions reform more urgent, Labour peer Lord Hutton has said.



The former minister, who conducted the coalition's review on pensions, said change was now the "order of the day".

He also told the BBC the government's offer was a "perfectly credible" one.

But unions, who say two million workers went on strike over the issue last week, argue their members will have to work longer and pay more, but get less.

The government wants public sector workers to pay more towards their pension schemes, retire later and accept a pension based on a "career average" salary, rather than the current arrangement based on their final salary.

On average workers face a 3.2% rise in their contributions.

The recommendations from Lord Hutton's independent review are at the heart of these proposals.

The former pensions minister told BBC Radio 4's The World This Weekend that his original assessments about the sustainability of future pension arrangements had been too optimistic.