SIR - Councillor Warnes was exactly right (T&A, August 28) because state pension provision here is abysmal compared to other EU countries.

However, there is another equally serious problem for those retired and that is taxation, both income tax and council tax.

Many who reach 65 are astonished to find their modest state pension including some SERPS entitlement is taxable. Others with a small occupational pension find Means Tested Credits make their savings worthless.

Council tax, meanwhile, has almost doubled since 1997, but basic state pension has risen by only about 20 per cent.

Fortunately, we now have a national minimum wage' which many believe ought to be the benchmark for calculating the state pension and the point at which income tax starts to be paid.

Why can't the basic pension be around two-thirds of it and why should anyone working or retired be liable to pay income tax or NICs below that level?

My wife recently became a pensioner at 60. Our daughter must now wait until age 68. Goodness knows what our three-year-old granddaughter's future position might be - 70 or even 80.

D S Boyes, Rodley Lane, Bramley