Members of Birmingham's professional and financial services sector have called on the Chancellor to take the pensions issue out of politicians' hands when he makes his Pre- Budget speech next Monday.
The call echoes a plea from the National Association of Pension Funds which said Lord Turner's Pensions Commission - which will publish its review on Wednesday - should be a permanent, independent body just like the rate-setting Monetary Policy Committee.
Michael Ward, senior partner at Gateley Wareing and a patron of Birmingham Forward, said: "The debate surrounding pensions is raging on.
"Against the backdrop of the TUC attacking company directors who retire early on full pensions for telling employees to work longer for less, and the CBI saying the industry cannot plug the gap, a reasoned debate is not realistic while the issue remains in the political arena.
" Government has repeatedly tried to tackle this issue, with endless reports and a fair amount of legislation. But we are getting no closer to a solution.
"With Gordon Brown due to present the allimportant Pre- Budget Report five days after Lord Turner publishes the findings of his review, the speculation that he is already positioning himself to reject an important part of its findings is particularly worrying. At Birmingham Forward we are saying now is the time to take this issue out of politics and hand over control to a truly independent body.
"The Chancellor's decision to transfer control of interest-rates to the Monetary Policy Committee at the Bank of England has proved an unprecedented success. There is no reason why a similar body consisting of economists, investment professionals and business representatives should not be set up to address, monitor and manage the problem."
Mr Ward said the pension crisis had been caused by Government interference, changing demographics and falling returns on stock-market investments, and would have widespread implications for both employers and pension scheme members.
"What is crucial is that the issues affecting the funding by companies of their underlying pension commitments to their employees is addressed now positively by a body independent of government.
"Until such time as we take the politics out of the pension issue, a satisfactory, long-term solution is unlikely to be found."
NAPF spokesman Andy Fleming added: "The pensions system is being used as a political football and short-term political expediency has often held sway over long-term strategy.
"At least having an independent body to advise, and to which the Government would need to answer, would bring much-needed long-term influence to bear."
Lord Turner, chairman of the Pensions Commission, is expected to say that pensions should rise in line with average earnings rather than with prices that tend not to go up as fast and that workers should retire later in return for a higher pension.
Mr Brown opposes restoring the pensions link to earnings, and has been accused of seeking to scupper the reforms the government itself commissioned.
Leading consumer body, Which?, noted: "The kind of spat we're seeing now proves the point that there really needs to be the equivalent of the MPC on pensions and long-term care."
