The UK's Liberal Democrat party has outlined pension reform proposals for the UK a week ahead of the final report from the Pensions Commission.

The party set out plans for a Citizens Pension, based on number of years spent in the UK, rather than on National Insurance contributions, and proposed a higher weekly pay out of GBP109.45 a week compared to the current basic state pension of GBP82.05 a week.

The party would pay for these reforms by raising the retirement age to 67 and by scrapping the state second pension. Non-state pensions would be an opt-out system with all employees automatically enrolled into company schemes.

Party leader Charles Kennedy said: I believe that there is now a broad consensus that we need a state pension that is universal – a Citizen’s Pension, linked to earnings, based on residency and set at a rate which guarantees to lift all our pensioners out of poverty from the age of their retirement.