Lack of funding means the proposed changes to the state pension would actually leave more people out of pocket, Prospect has told the Department for Work and Pensions.

The union said while the current system leaves too many pensioners in poverty, the government’s new proposals are no better.

Prospect pensions officer Neil Walsh said: “The green paper fails to address the real problems of pensioner poverty. There is a total paucity of analysis of the financial impact of either option and it is fatally constrained by the requirement to be cost neutral every year.”

The union also opposes regular, automatic changes to the state pension age.