Union claims Conservatives want to scrap basic pension

The Tories were accused yesterday of planning to scrap the basic state pension as they draw up new policies on savings.

In a leaked letter, David Willetts, the shadow Work and Pensions Secretary, said: "The vision of moving to a funded alternative to the basic state pension is a powerful and compelling one ... There are a series of practical questions that then have to be addressed so that our policy conveys credibility and seriousness."

The letter, sent to the Tory MP Andrew Mitchell, was seized on by the trade union Amicus as evidence that the Tories would abolish the state pension. Sir Ken Jackson, the general secretary, said: "The Tories are practising a massive fraud – covering themselves in political glory from Britain's pensions crisis while secretly plotting the end of the basic state pension. It is a cynical and pious deception that betrays Britain's pensioners."

Mr Willetts dismissed the union's claims. "Having a fully-funded pensions system is not the same as saying you would abolish the basic pension," he said. "We are having a wide-ranging discussion."