State Retirement Pensions

(asked on 2nd November 2017) - View Source

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department plans to bring the maximum amount for the old state pension in line with the new state pension.


Answered by
Guy Opperman Portrait
Guy Opperman
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
This question was answered on 6th November 2017

Direct comparisons between the old State Pension and the new State Pension are not appropriate.

People reaching State Pension age before 6 April 2016 could be entitled to a basic State Pension and an additional State Pension. The full amount of the basic State Pension (£122.30 a week for 2017/18) was reached after 30 qualifying years of National Insurance contributions or credits. The amount of additional State Pension was based on earnings over a full working life and its value ranges from £0.01p a week to over £160 a week. Legislation requires that the basic State Pension is uprated by at least the increase in earnings each year and the additional State Pension by at least the increase in prices.

The new State Pension replaced the old system for people reaching State Pension age from 6 April 2016 with a single pension which, after a transition period which recognises people’s National Insurance records in the old system, will require 35 qualifying years to achieve the full amount of £159.55 a week. Legislation requires the new State Pension is uprated by at least earnings each year.

As set out in The single-tier pension: a simple foundation for saving (Command 8528), the objective of the new State Pension is to provide a foundation for private saving by individuals and is designed to deliver an amount set at or above the level of the weekly means test which most people should be able to achieve. The new State Pension system has been designed to provide a simpler, sustainable system for decades to come, correcting some of the historic unfairness in the previous system, in particular for women, self-employed people and lower paid workers.

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