Prime minister David Cameron warns of hit to pensions if Britain backs Brexit
Prime minister David Cameron has warned retirees face a triple threat to their pension pots if Britain votes to leave the European Union.
He said pension funds would shrink due to the economic shock from a leave vote, just as the fallout increased the cost living and changes to visa and residency rules led to a shortage of care workers.
"Everyone — even those that want to leave — accept that there would be an economic shock. We owe it to all the people who have worked hard and saved all their lives to find dignity in retirement," he said.
Read more: This is how a Brexit could affect your pension
The government has been ramping up its warnings about the social, political and economic fallout from a Brexit ahead of the vote of the EU referendum next month. Earlier this month, it said tens of thousands of financial services jobs would be endangered if the UK leaves the EU.
Vote Leave chief executive, Matthew Elliot, told the magazine: "By leaving the EU and increasing our trade with the rest of the world, we would become far less vulnerable to being dragged down by the Eurozone crisis."
"The value of pensions and investments depends above all on the fundamentals of the British economy."
Elliot disputed the prime minister's claim Brexit would cause a care worker shortage, saying there's "no question of throwing of Europeans who are already living here".
Read more: The British economy would gain from Brexit
Telephone and online polls have painted different pictures of the public's opinion regarding Brexit. One poll showed yesterday that public trust in David Cameron over his position on the EU referendum has plummeted.
While the polls have been close in the run-up to the vote, it looks like the Remain camp has taken a lead in the last 10 days.
The UK will vote on 23 June in a historic referendum on whether to stay in the group the country joined in 1973.