A letter proposing a pension scheme for adult social care workers funded by employers and employees has been sent by Unison to health and social care secretary Wes Streeting.

The union said the pension could be developed through the fair pay agreement framework and supported by the DHSC.

Unison general secretary Andrea Egan said: ‘The current pension system isn't designed for the realities of care work. A collective approach would deliver fairer, more secure futures for workers when they get older.

‘It would also make the sector more attractive as a career. The Government should work with unions to make this a reality.'

Currently, most care workers rely on minimum auto-enrolment and accumulate multiple small pension sums tied to different employers, which Unison said makes pensions difficult to manage and can lead to a shortfall in retirement income.  

In addition, many staff fall below earnings thresholds for full pension contributions, further weakening their retirement prospects with those in part-time jobs or working across multiple roles particularly at risk.

The letter proposed two schemes: collective defined contribution, where both employers and employees pay into a collective fund; or defined benefit, providing guaranteed retirement income but requiring higher employer contributions.