The Department for Work and Pensions has had an ongoing workload of pensions reform following the work of the Turner Commission and has drawn up a number of policy documents on which it has invited consultation, stemming from its White Paper entitled 'Security in Retirement'. The responses that Connect has made are contained in the box on the right, most recently to the government's consultation on its response to the report of the external reviewers, Ed Sweeney and Chris Lewin, on its deregulatory review.

Our responses were all drawn up by Connect's Pensions Committee in line with the principles espoused in our original response to the Security in Retirement White Paper which were, in turn, the subject of a wide consultation with Connect members. Thanks to all those who expressed their views and which have helped shape our responses here.

The Department for Work and Pensions's White Paper on pensions reform is the Government's response to the Turner Commission's report on pensions. The full White Paper - which represents the current state of government thinking on the future for pensions in the wake of the reports produced by the government-appointed Pensions Commission - as well as other information on the government's proposals and the Turner Commission's reports and statements can be accessed by clicking on the link on the right hand side of the page.

In brief, the major features of the White Paper are as follows:

• a system of new personal accounts to make it easy for people to save for their retirement
• automatic enrolment in the system although people will be able to opt out, with minimum contributions from the state, employers and individuals
• a re-linking of the state pension with growth in earnings rather than growth in prices
• a reduction in the number of years needed to qualify for a full state pension to 30
• several other reforms to make pensions fairer for those with caring responsibilities
• a gradual rise in the state pension age to 68.

The main focus of the White Paper is state pension provision. It was not really part of Turner's remit to look at occupational pensions (e.g. schemes like the BTPS, mmO2's scheme, etc). Nevertheless, aspects of the White Paper do have some important things to say about occupational pensions and, inevitably, state and occupational pensions are linked. This very significant White Paper is therefore important to everyone - those with and without occupational pensions.

The White Paper is a long, complex document. Our response to it was prepared by Connect's Pensions Policy Committee, a body of our Executive Council specifically set up to direct the union's policy on pensions issues. You can access the final submission by clicking on the link on the right hand side of the page.

Our submission broadly welcomed the content of the White Paper, in terms both of the analysis that it contains and - in the main - the policy proposals which stem from that analysis although we do have some reservations about some aspects of the proposals. Overall, we feel that the government must do more to support and encourage good occupational pensions and that a new pensions settlement and consensus about pensions provision and reform is urgently required. This should embody the following principles:

• it must recognise the fundamental changes in society which have taken place since the last consensus was developed in the 1940s
• the new pensions system must be a slot simpler than it is now
• means-testing of retirement income provision must largely be abolished.

Our submission about the detailed issues in the White Paper focused on the following:

• contributions to personal accounts
• compulsion
• the need for the system of personal accounts to be state-run rather than industry-run
• increases in the state retirement age (faster than proposed by the Turner Commission)
• uprating pensions in line with movements in average earnings.