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Dear Laurie,
It comes down to values. We believe if you have put in, you should get out.
And if you have worked hard during your life, saved, paid your taxes, and done the right thing - you deserve security when you retire.
That's why we'll continue to increase the State Pension through the Triple Lock, so it rises every year at either the rate of earnings, prices, or 2.5 per cent - whichever is highest.
No more of the paltry increases - one year as low as 75p - we saw under Labour. Instead, the Basic State Pension has risen by £800 since 2010 with the Conservatives.
And it's why we're protecting pensioner benefits including the free bus pass, TV licence and winter fuel payment.
Values also lie at the heart of our commitment to give people the freedom to invest and spend their pension however they like.
From six weeks today, no longer will you have to buy an annuity and have your own money doled back out to you. Instead, your money will be yours to do with as you like.
If you want to buy an annuity - fine. If you want to take a lump sum - fine. It's your money - you earned it.
And if you want to pass your pension on to your loved-ones, you'll be able to do so tax-free. No longer will you be hit by a shameful 55% tax - we've cut that to zero.
This is about values - Conservative values that say that everyone who has worked hard and done the right thing should know that they will have dignity and security in retirement.
Yours,
Dear David
I spent years caring for my special needs son. I was a single parent and money was, and still is, very tight. I have been unable to save for my 'golden years'. In fact, for years, it was not possible to work but I have always aimed to improve my lot in life by going to college and then university; all as a mature student because I left school with no qualifications because I was ill at the time of my 'O' levels. Anorexic, in fact, brought on by living with an alcoholic father and abusive mother.
Not everyone on benefits is a scrounger or dosser, you know, so why do your policies seem to assume so? And what is wrong with means testing Winter fuel allowance and child benefit? Not everybody needs it.
It's is very unlikely I'll vote for you. The most shocking thing is you, too, have had a disabled son, which makes it really hard to understand why you seem to have an axe to grind against the most vulnerable people in society. I applaud your stand on family values and how you seek to introduce tax breaks for couples but I never chose to be a single parent and the same can be said for many people. In my case, my son would have been forcibly taken away from me and adopted if I had stayed with his (abusive) father.
So, Mr Cameron, when you have stopped being a shiny faced public school boy with your out of touch values, and your image consultants, you may get my vote.
With regards
Laurie
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