Responding to government cuts of £6.2 billion this year, the MP warned that slashing investment in jobs programmes would be devastating for young people in Glasgow and across Scotland.

Ann McKechin MP welcomed pension changes today, 12 Jan, that will move millions of workers a step closer to getting a workplace pension for the first time.

The Labour Government has calculated that 14 million people get no contribution towards retirement from their employer. Many of these people are working hard in low paid jobs with poor conditions.

But the plan laid out before Parliament today mean that large businesses will be forced to chip in 1% of salary, rising to 3% by 2017. 

This is the most radical change to workplace entitlements since the introduction of the National Minimum Wage – for the first time employers of all sizes would be compelled to join their employees in paying into the staff pension scheme.

Ann McKechin MP said:

“These reforms are vital in giving thousands of people in our community the chance to save in a pension, and mean all employers will be required to pay into a pension for their workers for the first time.

“The cost to all of us of doing nothing in the face of an ageing society is too great to ignore. Currently 14 million people get no contribution from their employer towards a pension and around 7 million people are not saving enough for their retirement.

Millions of workers today moved a step closer to getting a workplace pension for the first time as the final rules for the Government’s pensions’ reform were put before Parliament today.

Ann added:

“These reforms will give everyone the chance to build up a pension. It is the biggest change to support for working people since the introduction of the minimum wage.

“Along with our changes to the state pension later this year, this will ensure that pensions are fair and sustainable in the longer term.”

Calling this the most radical change to workplace entitlements since the introduction of the National Minimum Wage, Secretary of State, Yvette Cooper, highlighted the fact that employers of all sizes would be joining employees in paying into a pension scheme for the first time.

The changes kick off in 2012 with business of over 120,000 employees paying into a pension scheme. This will be staged through to 2016 to include small businesses of 50 or fewer employees, with start up small business given additional time to prepare to comply.