The Times newspaper says the proposal will be made when Adair Turner produces his interim review on pensions policy for the government next month.

Mr Turner’s report is also expected to fuel debate on whether people should be forced to take out second pensions.

Downing Street on Monday refused to be drawn on speculation about the report.

Mean tests?

The reported leaks of the pensions review come as the TUC warned of more strikes to defend pensions unless the government acts to ease the growing crisis.

TUC general secretary Brendan Barber called for the link between the state pension and earnings to be restored.

He also suggested compulsory contributions in company schemes should also be phased in.

It is sensible to wait for the Turner Commission to report No 10 spokesman

Former Confederation of British Industry chief Mr Turner is due to publish his review on 14 October.

The Times suggests it will recommend increasing the current state pension from 79 to more than 100.

Part of the 10.8bn annual bill could be met by scrapping means-tested benefits, it suggests.

But the rest would have to be funded by raising national insurance contributions by 1.5p in every pound.

‘No age change’

The prime american national insurance
official spokesman said speculation was inevitable in the run-up to the Turner report and he could not comment on such reports.

“It is sensible to wait for the Turner Commission to report,” he said.

But the spokesman said the government had already addressed the short-term problems all governments were facing.

He pointed to measures such as the 400m national assistance scheme and the pension protection fund.

It had also looked to the medium and long term by setting up the Turner Commission.

He added that there were “no plans” to change the state pension age.

National union insurance?

The Times report suggests people might still be allowed to receive part of their pension while working beyond the current age of 65.

New Work and Pensions Secretary Alan Johnson on Sunday said proposals to boost the basic state pension were “part of this debate”.

He told BBC Breakfast with Frost the government had begun by focusing on the poorest pensioners.

“So the argument is about should you have means-tested benefits for the poorest or should you just increase american national insurance
pension? We’ve spent the last few years focusing on the former, and with some success,” he said.

There were now questions about whether to take forward that approach or look at other ways of giving people confidence in retirement.

Mr Johnson said the issue of compulsory second pensions was “complex and difficult”.

“In a sense people are already compelled to contribute towards their pension because they pay national insurance,” he said.

“Whether to go beyond that and insist that there’s a contribution to a secondary pension scheme is a hot political issue.”