The Chamber of Commerce has not taken a position on the national pension plan proposed by Government, executive vice-president Ms Carolyn Mello said yesterday.

She said the Chamber had discussed a pension scheme only in broad terms with Finance Minister the Hon. David Saul.

In an interview with The Royal Gazette reported in yesterday's newspaper, Chamber president Mr. Robert Rego had expressed concern about the cost of a mandatory pension plan, particularly for small companies.

However, "it's very important that people have something other than the Government pension,'' he said.

"Something does have to be done. The benefits obviously will be derived by our children when they retire.'' But Ms Mello said those comments did not mean the Chamber supported a national pension plan as proposed by Dr. Saul.

"The introduction of any new costs for business are cause of real concern when our economy is so slow to recover from the recession,'' she said. "We welcome the opportunity of reviewing a Green Paper on the proposed National Pension Scheme, outlining details on the costs, ramifications, and benefits of the plan.

"Upon receipt of the paper, the Chamber will table the proposal and its findings, in full with our members. Until such time, we are not in a position to either endorse or challenge the plan.'' Dr. Saul has promised a Cabinet discussion paper, called a Green Paper, on the pension plan in the current session of Parliament.