THE Scottish Government’s proposals on pensions, should there be a vote in favour of separation in September, simply don’t add up, MP Lindsay Roy claimed this week.

And he is calling on Holyrood to spell out to voters, well ahead of the Referendum, exactly how it will find the money to pay a higher state pension than the rest of the UK and possibly delay the planned increase in pension age to 67.

Mr Roy is a member of the Scottish Affairs Select Committee, which has just produced a report on the implications for pensions and benefits should separation occur following the Referendum.

He said, “Pensions and welfare represent one of the most important and sensitive areas of Government policy.

“People rightly want clarity and certainty in this area in order to help them plan for retirement and know what support is available if they fall on hard times, but it is clear from the evidence the Committee heard that the Scottish Government’s proposals are full of flaws.

“We are deeply concerned about the lack of detail and failure to consider some of the more practical issues around implementation and, most important of all, costs. For instance, the cost of setting up an independent computer system will cost many millions of pounds.” Continued the MP for Cardenden and Kinglassie, “The SNP’s pledges on pensions and welfare will inevitably mean more spending, and when the projected increase in the number of people of pension age to people of working age in Scotland is taken into consideration, the price of separation can only get higher.

“There are also serious doubts as to whether or not the Scottish Government could achieve the changes it wants within the timeframe it sets out – our evidence indicates that their stated aim of launching a new benefits system by 2018 is unrealistic.

“Holyrood appears to believe that the existing UK system, and a modified Scottish system could run in parallel until it was ready to break completely, but expert witnesses indicated to the Committee that this is pie in the sky and is another example of assertion without evidence.” Concluded Mr Roy, “It is vital that they spell out the full cost of their pledges, and make a decision on their proposed state pension age well before the Referendum to give people in my constituency and across Scotland a clear idea of the pension arrangements they could expect if separation occurs.

“At the moment, people know exactly what the situation is with the UK’s pensions and benefits system, and they deserve to know exactly how it would work in an independent Scotland.

“Vague, uncosted promises of what might happen in the future are no use – people want hard facts now and the Scottish Government must come clean on this vitally important issue".