Gov't underprojects pensions cost, says PPI

The new figures suggest previous government estimates were out by up to 20%, implying spending on pension benefits and contracted-out rebates by 2052 will hit 6.3% of GDP rather than 5.2%. Disability benefit, council tax benefit, and housing benefit are projected to cost broadly the same by that year, or about 1.1% of GDP. ”Most of the difference between the projections is in estimates of spending on basic state pension, with costs increasing by 0.6% of GDP in response to the higher estimate of the number of people over state pension age,” the PPI says. By contrast, the forecast co...