OLDER people in Scotland should vote Yes to provide the younger generation opportunities they were denied, according to Nicola Sturgeon.

The Deputy First minister was in Hamilton, speaking to pensioners with Yes Scotland campaigners, and offered 10 reasons why pensioners should vote Yes to independence on Thursday.

Ms Sturgeon was joined by former Scottish Senior Citizens Unity Party MSP John Swinburne and Yes Scotland chairman Dennis Canavan, a former Labour MSP and MP.

She said an independent Scotland could afford to protect and increase the value of pensions to keep pace with the cost of living and argued the increase in state pension age proposed by Westminster is not suitable for Scotland.

Ms Sturgeon said: "Scot-land is one of the wealthiest countries in the world, but for too many people - including many older people - it doesn't feel that way. Under Westminster rule, the state pension is second lowest in the developed world.

"We know that Scots' pensions are legally guaranteed - and even the UK Government's Pensions Minister has confirmed that they will be protected in an independent Scotland.

"Independence is an opportunity to give our older people the retirement they deserve - whether it is ensuring the state pension rises in line with the cost of living; maintaining savings credit, which is being scrapped by Westminster; or reviewing Westminster's unfair plans to raise the state retirement age to 67."

With pensioners, and people over the age of 55, consistently considered the least likely to vote Yes the Glasgow Southside MSP made an appeal to the older generation to think of their children and grandchildren when casting their vote.

She added: "But crucially, independence is an opportunity for the young people of today - and we are urging pensioners to vote Yes and unlock the wealth of opportunity for future generations.

"A generation ago, the people of Scotland were told to vote No to get a better form of devolution. What we got instead was 18 years of Tory governments, the destruction of our manufacturing sector, and a generation of young people left on the scrap-heap.

"Scotland can and must make sure this never happens again - we must ensure that future genera-tions have the opportun-ities that their parents and grandparents never had."

She said state pension would be paid in full on time, and public sector and private pensions would not be affected.

Her 10 reasons to vote Yes included a pledge to set the pension at £160 a week. She said it would be protected by a triple lock of inflation, average earnings or 2.5%, whichever was higher.

She said pensions were affordable because expen-diture on pensions as a share of GDP and of tax revenues is lower in Scotland than in the UK.

Ms Sturgeon said: "So our plea today to pensioners in Scotland is this: you lived through the Thatcher years, you lived through the waste of opportunity, you lived through the squand-ering of Scotland's oil wealth - don't let Westminster repeat the mistakes of the past."

stewart.paterson@ eveningtimes.co.uk