MY FEW recent words on BBC Radio York hardly gave me time to express my fears of the Government’s plans for pensions.

Many of the financial claims are questionable, but most importantly the young people of today will be asked to work a further five years. They will then receive a pension worth less than today’s.

The only good factor is that the means test is to be scrapped. The state pension today is calculated on the husband’s contributions and working 30 years will provide the full state pension, but should the wife be left a widow, her pension will be relatively small as it is calculated on the payments made while her husband lived.

She then has to claim through the means test system, which is complicated and baffling and often means a widow giving up and struggling to survive.

I wonder what will be put in its place.

If good health survives, pensioners still make significant contributions without pay. Most charity shops and good-will ventures are staffed by the older person. We still like to help.

Les Marsh, Water Lane, York.