German and British citizens have clashed over the future of the state pension in their respective countries, research by the University of Kent has revealed.

Researchers from the university interviewed 34 individuals from both nations in a series of ‘democratic forums’ where they debated the subject of pension reforms. However, when asked about how pensions should be provided by governments in the years ahead in response to increasing life expectancy and a widening income divide, respondents from the two nations disagreed.

For example, the Germans, despite understanding that state pensions are becoming very expensive for the government to provide, still believe the payments should continue. This is to ensure, as a minimum, that there is no old-age poverty among its population.

Furthermore, the role of private pensions was seen as something that should be left open to individuals to choose to pay into if they wished to ‘top-up’ their entitlements in retirement.

However, the British forum struggled to reach a consensus, with some arguing the government always had some role to play in providing a state pension, while others said it placed too greater strain on the welfare state and private pensions should be made compulsory to reduce the burden.

Those who said it should remain argued that scrapping a state pension would be another example of inter-generational unfairness as previous generations have benefitted from state pensions that are now being labelled unaffordable and taken away from younger generations.

Others favoured proposals also made by the Germans where a state pension would be available to individuals to prevent old-age poverty, but not as a right for everyone.

The university’s School of Social Policy, Sociology, and Social Research, Professor Peter Taylor-Gooby said: “The results show the complexities at the heart of two pressing issues facing advanced Western governments. In the UK people have an economic, market-orientated view towards these decisions, whereas in Germany there is more acceptance of the ‘social good’ that should be factored into certain policies.’

The paper, Regimes, Social Risks and the Welfare Mix: Unpacking Attitudes to Pensions and Childcare in Germany and the UK through Deliberative Forums, has been published in the Journal of Social Policy.

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