Qualifying conditions for the Basic State Pension
The BSP is a flat-rate pension paid to anyone who has paid
enough
National Insurance Contributions or has enough credits when
they reach their SPA.
If you reached your SPA on or after 6 April
2010
The full rate of BSP is payable if you have 30
qualifying years on your National Insurance record. If
you have less than 30, you will receive a proportionately lower BSP
(i.e. if you have 23 qualifying years, your BSP will be 23/30ths of
the full amount). You only need one qualifying year to get
some BSP.
If you reached your SPA before 6 April 2010
The full rate of BSP was payable if you had 39 (for women) or 44
(for men) qualifying years. The minimum BSP (25% of the full
amount) was payable if you had 10 (women) or 11 (men) qualifying
years.
Click here
to read more about the BSP.
Claiming a Category B pension
A Category B pension (sometimes referred to as the married
person's pension) is paid by virtue of a spouse's or civil
partner's qualifying years and earnings. Historically, a
person cannot claim a Category B pension until their spouse or
partner has claimed theirs.
However, since 6 April 2010, a Category B pension has been
treated independently of the spouse's or partner's pension.
It is therefore possible to take a Category B pension even if the
spouse or partner has deferred theirs.
Also, even if the spouse or partner has taken theirs, a Category
B pension can be deferred.
Home Responsibilities Protection entitlement
Home
Responsibilities (HRP) was replaced by a new system of
weekly contribution credits on 6 April 2010 for foster carers,
people caring for one or more severely disabled persons for 20
hours a week or more or getting Child Benefit for a child under 12
years of age.
For those reaching SPA on or after 6 April
2010, each complete year (up to a maximum of 22) of HRP awarded
under the existing rules will be converted into a qualifying year
for the BSP. Converting years of HRP can
also be used for up to half the working life to help satisfy the
condition for bereavement benefits.
Click here to read
more about HRP.
Uprating of the State Pension
Subject to affordability and the fiscal position in 2012, but in
any event at the latest by the end of the next Parliament, the
basic state pension will be uprated annually in line with average
earnings rather than prices.
Eligibility for the State Second Pension
The State Second Pension (S2P)
provides an additional state pension for:
- those with earnings at or above the annual National Insurance
lower earnings limit (£5,044 in 2010/11); and
- qualifying carers and certain long term sick or disabled people
who, for the purposes of calculating the benefit, are deemed to be
earning at the low earnings threshold (£14,100 in
2010/11).
Employees with earnings between the annual lower earnings limit
and the low earnings threshold are treated as having earnings at
the threshold for S2P purposes.
From 6 April 2010 access will be extended to foster parents,
people awarded child benefit for a child under age 12; people
looking after someone with a qualifying disability for at least 20
hours a week. They will be deemed to be earning at the low earnings
threshold, for S2P purposes. Additionally, people will be able to
combine earnings with credits for caring and/or incapacity within a
single tax year in order to build up S2P entitlement.
Restructure of S2P
The rules for the additional State Pension are changing. In the
future it will become a simple, single rate, weekly top-up to the
basic State Pension.
For people earning £5,044 or more a year or getting
credits for State Second Pension, it will start to build up at a
flat rate of around £1.60 a week (both figures in 2010/11
money) for each qualifying year. The exact date from which this
will start has yet to be fixed, but it is expected to be between
2012 and 2015.
The current earnings-related element built up by people earning
between £14,100 and £40,040 a year (in 2010/11) will be
gradually withdrawn, so that people will build up entitlement on a
completely flat-rate basis by around 2030 or shortly afterwards.
These changes to additional State Pension are intended to make it
easier for you to understand how your State Pension is worked out
and estimate how much you will receive.
Increase to the State Pension Age (SPA)
The State Pension Age (SPA) is the earliest age you can draw
your State Pension. Your SPA is specific to your date of
birth.
Historically, the SPA has been 60 for women and 65 for
men. However, these are changing.
- Between 2010 and 2020 women's retirement ages are increasing to
65.
- Between 2024 and 2026, retirement ages for men and women are
increasing to 66.
- Between 2034 and 2036, retirement ages for men and women are
increasing to 67.
- Between 2044 and 2046, retirement ages for men and women are
increasing to 68.
