Capot:
The predictions in my previous post come from the Hutton Report on Public Service Pensions, the very same document from which this government has formulated its proposals on pensions. They are based on the status quo being maintained. No larger fall in staff numbers than predicted. No increase in employee contributions.
Granted, it is difficult to predict the exact size and nature of the civil service in 2060 which is why the report gives a best and a worst case scenario. Even in the worst scenario, the cost of providing civil service pensions would still fall by over 10% from their current levels. Whilst I'm not advocating doing nothing, this does contradict the governments claim that public sector pensions are inherently unaffordable and unsustainable in their current form.
Forecasting annual pension costs between now and 2060 is far from fatuous; it is impossible to judge the affordability of such schemes without making such predictions.