There are two parts to the State
Pension - the Basic State Pension (BSP) and the Additional Pension
(AP).
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.
Basic State Pension (BSP)
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.
Currently, the full rate of BSP is payable if you have qualifying
years of about 90% of the years in your working life. This is
currently 39 years for a woman and 44 years for a man. Your working
life begins at 16 and ends when you reach your SPA. The minimum BSP
is payable if you normally have 10 or 11 qualifying years. This is
normally 25% of the full rate. The more years you work or have
credited then the more BSP you earn.
Those reaching SPA on or after 6 April 2010 will only require 30
qualifying years to claim the full BSP.
Married women who have not paid sufficient contributions may
will receive a pension based on their husband's contributions when
they have both reached SPA. For example, if a woman reaches
her SPA but her husband has not, she will have to wait until he
reaches his SPA before she can claim the pension based on his
record. Her pension will be 60% of her husband's.
From 6 April 2010, husbands and civil partners will be able to
claim a BSP based on their wife or partner's record.
Additional Pension (AP)
State Second Pension (S2P)
This is paid in addition to the BSP.
Until April 2002, it was known as SERPS and
depended solely on the NICs you paid as an employee.
From 6 April 2002, SERPS was reformed to provide a more generous
AP for low and moderate earners, carers and people with a long-term
illness or disability. The reformed AP, now known as S2P is based
upon earnings on which standard rate Class 1 NICs are paid or
treated as having been paid.
S2P provides a top-up to the BSP based on your actual or deemed
earnings. All employees have to contribute towards the AP unless
they make alternative arrangements by contributing to an
occupational or personal pension scheme which is contracted out of
S2P.
Graduated Retirement Benefit
This was the forerunner to SERPS and the amount of pension
earned depends on the number of units of graduated contributions
you paid between April 1961 and April 1975 and the value of a unit
at the time you come to claim your pension.
Pension Credit
Pension Credit is a means-tested social
security benefit introduced on 6th October 2003 and administered by
the Pension Service. It is designed to provide those aged 60
and over with a minimum level of income and give extra cash to
those aged 65 and over with modest incomes who have made savings
for their retirement.
Click here to
read about Pension Credit.
Q & A's
You are treated as individuals so will each get a Basic State
Pension (BSP) based on your own records. The married couple's
pension is designed to help those where one of them has a reduced
BSP because they have not worked or paid reduced NI
contributions.
If you are retired then you can apply for the Pensions Credit
which will could supplement your State and other Pensions. If you
have not yet retired then you should look into the possibility of
paying into a private pension or a pension with your employer if
they offer one.
In this case you will automatically get Home Responsibilities
Protection for each complete tax year since 1978 that you have been
receiving Child Benefit for a child under 16.
The State Pension Age (SPA) for women is gradually being
increased from 60 to 65 and it will affect you if you were born
after 5 April 1950. The SPA for both men and women is then going to
increase gradually again from 65 to 68. This will affect you
if you were born after 5 April 1959. Try our SPA
calculator.
If you were getting Carer's Allowance, you should be
credited with a contribution for each week you were getting
it. Otherwise, you will need to apply for Home
Responsibilities Protection and can do so by applying on form CF411
which is available from your local Social Security office.
In normal circumstances the Pensions Service will write out to
you about four months in advance of your reaching your State
retirement age to advise you of your pension and they will send you
the necessary form to apply for it. However if this does not happen
then you should get in contact with them directly.
No, the soonest you can get your State Pension is when you reach
your State Pension Age.
This is possible and your State Pension will be increased by
approximately 10.4% per year for each year that it is deferred.
The State Pension is increased each April in line with
inflation. From 2012, it will increase in line with earnings
Unfortunately not. The new rules giving a full basic state
pension based on only 30 qualifying years is only effective for
those reaching SPA on or after 6 April 2010. As you will reach
yours before then, you will be covered by the existing rules. You
will still need 39 (for a female) or 44 (for a male) qualifying
years for the full amount.
