The TUC has published an in-depth assessement of the government's new negotiating stance on public sector pensions, entitled ‘Separating spin from substance.'

Published on the TUC's pensionsjustice website, it says:

• the government has not moved as much as it claims, and that it is ‘overegging' its offer'

• that the improved offer on accrual rate and protection for older workers nearing retirement cannot be final because each pension scheme is different and offers can only be made within individual schemes

• the government is guilty of misleading claims about how the package will impact on certain groups, in particular a comment by the prime minister that "I can tell the House that low and middle-income earners will actually get more from their public sector pensions." The critique adds the words missing from Cameron's comment - ie "if they are prepared to work many years longer, pay a lot of extra money and understand that they have to work long enough to start their retirement with a much bigger pension payment to ensure that they get as least as good value of pension during retirement because of our switch to CPI indexing."

See the TUC's pensions justice site.