YOUR editorial and story on pensions (March 25) highlights important problems. Stanley Gillard's concerns about the impact of the 'tax-trap' that penalises him for wanting to work are well founded.

Labour gives with one hand and takes with another. Now, five million pensioners are eligible for the means-tested Pension Credit yet, incredibly, 1.6 million don't receive it. Not only does this illustrate how complicated the system is but it also acts as a massive deterrent to save. Today, 21 percent of pensioners live in poverty.

The alternative approach is to link pensions to earnings rather than inflation thereby increasing pensions (£7 per week for a single person) to make much of the means testing unnecessary. This is what a Conservative Government would do.

Action also needs to be taken to encourage people to save and, by extension, to work if they so wish. This is why such measures as introducing a Lifetime Savings Account would help. It is also crucial to improve the contributory principle to treat women more fairly.

As Labour's own Frank Field has pointed out, ".....when Labour came into office we had one of the strongest pension provisions in Europe and now probably we have some of the weakest." This is quite an admission and totally unacceptable for today's pensioners.

Neil Carmichael Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Stroud Park End Stroud