Major changes to UK State Pension.

[Andrew from Vista Financial]

If you were born on or after 6 April 1955, the changes to State Pensions will affect you. Find out more about what your State Pension age will be, and the qualifying years you will need to get a basic State Pension.

 

Your State Pension under the new system

 

 

 

The State Pension system is changing in a number of ways. Some of the most important changes are:

• if you are a woman born between 6 April 1955 and 5 April 1959 (inclusive), the earliest age from which you can get your State Pension will be 65, the same as for men
  
• if you are a man or woman born on or after 6 April 1959, the earliest age from which you can get your State Pension will be between 65 and 68. See ‘Men born on or after 6 April 1955’ below for more information
  
• to get a full basic State Pension, currently around £95 per week, you will only need 30 qualifying years of National Insurance contributions or credits. Under the current system, women normally needed 39 qualifying years, and men 44 qualifying years
  
• to start getting some basic State Pension, you will only need one qualifying year of National Insurance contributions or credits. Under the current system, you needed to build up a minimum number of qualifying years to start getting the basic State Pension – 10 years for women and 11 years for men
  
• from 6 April 2010, if you spend time caring for a child up to age 12 or a sick or disabled person, you may be able to use a new weekly credit to build up State Pension entitlement
  

In the future, the State Pension will be increased each year in line with growth in people’s earnings. Currently, annual increases are made in line with increases in prices. Usually, earnings increase at a higher rate than prices, so this should protect the State Pension’s value over time. However, the increase will not be paid to people who get a UK State Pension and who live in a country outside the EEA or in a country that does not have a reciprocal agreement providing for the uprating of the UK State Pension.

 

 

I am guessing that this will affect most people on here.

 

For more information please see this link.

 

http://www.thepensionservice.gov.uk/changes-to-pensions/1955.asp

 

 

Regards

 

 

Andy