UK – Members of Parliament have set up a group aimed at forming a pensions consensus.

The All-Party Parliamentary Group for a Pensions Consensus is chaired by Lynne Jones, the Labour MP for Birmingham Selly Oak. It had its inaugural meeting in Westminster on July 19.

Speakers included pensions minister David Blunkett and David Blake, professor of pension economics at the Cass Business School.

The new group replaces the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Pensioners' Incomes, which has now ceased to exist. The new name reflected “a greater emphasis on the need for all parties to come together and agree on a way forward for UK pension policy”.

“This group will be a great chance for MPs to hear from a wide range of pensions experts,” said Jones in a statement. “The better informed MPs are, then the more likely they are to come together on this issue.”

“To have the Secretary of State address the first meeting gives the group a great foundation, and having MPs join from all three main parties shows that there is the political will for a consensus,” said Roger Turner, head of Unite, the National Federation of Royal Mail and BT Pensioners.

“What we need to do now is ensure that this is delivered, so that pensioners now and in the future can enjoy a decent standard of living.”

The MPs will next meet in the autumn, around the time that the Pensions Commission issues its final report.