IEA Head of Political Economy Kristian Niemietz has written in CapX questioning the general consensus that raising the pension age is a ‘right-wing’ policy.

Kristian wrote:

“Macron’s plans [to increase the state pension age by two years] have no obvious implications for Britain, but Anglo-Twitter’s excitement has more to do with the aesthetics and vibes of the protests than with the policy content.

“The purpose of a state pension system is not to redistribute from capital to labour, or from rich to poor. It may do a bit of that on the side, depending on how it is designed, and it may be complemented by a means-tested programme which does. But the main purpose of a pension system is intergenerational redistribution, not redistribution between social classes or income groups.

“Public pay-as-you-go pension systems collect contributions from those below a certain age, and disburse the funds among those above that age. This is no more ‘progressive’ than, say, round-buying at the pub…”

You can read the full article here.