The New State Pension

The new State Pension will be introduced in April 2016. Concerns have been raised that many of those who will be affected by the changes do not know enough about the changes or exactly what they will mean for their pensions, especially people who are close to retirement now and may have done most or all of their retirement planning and saving under the “old” system.

The introduction of the New State Pension from April 2016 is a major reform and will affect millions of people currently of working age. Although in the long term the reforms will simplify the State Pension, the transition period will be long and complex, and there is a lot of uncertainty among people who will be affected about the impact of the reforms, especially for those now closest to State Pension age. While many people are expected to be better off, people with for example less than 10 years of National Insurance contributions will no longer receive any State Pension, and people will no longer be able to count on a percentage of their spouse’s pension after their death. People need a good understanding of what to expect from the New State Pension to aid retirement planning, and avoid confusion and shocks.