A new report has called on the government to introduce a new independent pensions commission to help savers to secure adequate retirement income.

The Consensus Revisited report, published by the International Longevity Centre-UK (ILC-UK) and sponsored by Prudential, wants a new commission to "rebuild consensus-based policy making in pensions and tackle the challenge of insufficient incomes in retirement."

Senior research fellow at ILC-UK, Ben Franklin, said: "A new pensions commission is urgently needed to look at the problem of retirement income adequacy in a holistic way – taking into account the political and economic realities of our time."

"The core goal of ensuring adequate retirement incomes based on the principle of consensus-based policy making, is consistent with the original thrust of the Turner Commission a decade ago, and can be at the heart of a new coherent settlement on pensions policy in the UK."

The report argues that a commission should be set up as soon as possible after the general election to help navigate the tricky road ahead, but, in order to allow the current set of reforms to bed-in and to ensure at least short to medium term stability in pensions policy, the Commission should not set out any final proposals until 2017 at the earliest.

The report also argues that the Commission must "carry sufficient weight politically to ensure that its findings and proposals are taken seriously" and recommends that the commission should report to the secretary of state for work and pensions the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the prime minister.

Head of public affairs at Prudential, Tim Fassam, said: "Recent changes have expanded the number of people saving and provided a wider range of choices in retirement.

"While these are important improvements, most people are still not saving enough to provide the retirement they desire and pension decisions are long-term, so stability and predictability are important in encouraging people to save more.

"At Prudential we believe the best way to achieve this is through consensus with savers, policymakers and industry working together."

First published 26.02.2015

Lindsay.sharman@wilmington.co.uk