Pensions time bomb for independent Scotland

When it comes to the subject of pensions, former Chancellor Gordon Brown is not high on my list of most credible experts.

Brown was after all the man responsible for the massive tax raid on pension funds, after introducing taxation of pension funds in 1997.

Today he is warning that an independent Scotland could face a pensions ‘time bomb’, along with a bill for £9bn.

Speaking on behalf of the Better Together campaign, Brown will explain that pensions are more secure and cheaper to administer if Scotland stayed as a part of the UK, according to a report in The Telegraph.

He believes an independent Scotland would face a £9bn bill for pensions in its first year, including £1bn to setting up a separate pensions and benefits system.

£9bn is roughly three times larger than Scotland’s projected annual oil revenues.

Explaining that an independent Scotland would face a pensions time bomb, Gordon Brown will explain that the number of elderly people in Scotland is growing faster than the working-age population.

Should the people of Scotland vote yes for independence on Thursday 18th September 2014, it appears that the rest of the UK would be better off financially.

Under the current system, Scotland receives £9.6 billion a year in total pension benefits.

Should it vote for independence in September, Scotland would receive just £9.1 billion as the cash would be allocated on the share of population.