Whether or not pensions are worth the risk is in part based on confidence in knowing and understanding the rules of the game and having those rules kept stable over the long term. My point is that manipulation of the rules to make the game fairer or less costly in an upfront and open way is one thing is one. Fiddling around behind the scene with the intention of just extracting cash in the hope people will not notice is quite another. One way is more likely to lead to a continuation of pensions in the current form than the other. If it is the first approach that they intend to follow in combining Tax/NI then why should there be a big crisis - they must understand there need for there to be some form of carrot for people to give up 30yrs of spending for and it needs to be fairly applied. If it is the other, which I'm assuming is the underlying worry then the game is probably all but over.