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Graduated Retirement Benefit meaning

What does Graduated Retirement Benefit mean?
An additional, earnings-related amount of UK state pension for individuals who paid graduated national insurance contributions between 6 April 1961 and 5 April 1975. It stems from the now‑closed graduated pension scheme established by the National Insurance Act 1959 and related regulations. The scheme ceased accrual in April 1975 and is distinct from SERPS (introduced in 1978) and the State Second Pension. In practice, Graduated Retirement Benefit (GRB) is relevant when advising on State Pension entitlement, financial remedies on divorce, dependency and probate valuations, and benefits interactions. For those who reached State Pension age before 6 April 2016, GRB is paid as an increase to the basic State Pension. For those reaching State Pension age on or after 6 April 2016, any GRB value is reflected in the individual’s starting amount under the new State Pension rules and, where due, is paid alongside the new State Pension. Rules are consistent across England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland (administered separately but on a UK‑wide legislative footing). The term and benefit do not apply in Ireland, whose PRSI‑based State Pension has no equivalent graduated scheme.
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View the related Practice Notes about Graduated Retirement Benefit

PRACTICE NOTES
UK State Pensions: Basic, SERPS/S2P, Graduated and New State Pension: SPA changes, entitlement, qualifying years, NI credits, contracting-out, deferral, overseas uprating and Brexit

Brexit impact The UK ceased to be an EU Member State on exit day, 31 January 2020. Under the Withdrawal Agreement, the state pension and benefit rights of UK nationals residing in the EU, European Economic Area (EEA) or Switzerland are protected. See: Benefits and pensions for UK nationals in the EU, EEA or Switzerland. Likewise, information on the entitlements of EEA and Swiss citizens to UK benefits and state pensions is set out at: Benefits and pensions for EEA and Swiss citizens in the UK. State pensions A state retirement pension depends on an individual’s National Insurance (NI) contribution record and may consist of up to three elements: the basic old age pension the State Second Pension (S2P—formerly the State Earnings Related Pension Scheme, SERPS) the graduated pension Payments are generally made gross, with tax collected through Pay As You Earn (PAYE) against a person’s other income, such as an occupational or private pension. Income tax can also...

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PRACTICE NOTES
Older Clients’ Benefits: Means-Testing of Income and Capital, Tariff and Notional Income, and Deprivation of Assets (Care Act 2014), with Overview of Pension, Disability, Housing and Bereavement Benefits (Archived)

ARCHIVED This Practice Note summarises the state support potentially available to older clients and clarifies how means testing operates for both income and capital. It also considers the rules on deliberate deprivation of income or assets, both for social security benefits and for local authority care charges under the Care Act 2014. Benefits for older people fall into three strands: contributory (dependent on sufficient National Insurance contributions), non‑contributory and non‑means‑tested (based on status such as age or disability), and means‑tested (assessed against the claimant’s income and capital). Relevant Benefits Pension and pension related benefits New State Pension Graduated Retirement Benefit (historic entitlement) Guaranteed Minimum pension—contracted out rights Pension Credit—guarantee credit and saving credit War pensions—where applicable Disability—related benefits Attendance Allowance Personal Independence Payment (for those below State Pension age) Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit Means-tested benefits Pension Credit Housing Benefit—for claimants over the State Pension age...

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PRACTICE NOTES
April 2017 UK pensions legislative changes: auto-enrolment thresholds, PPF and levy, state/public sector uprating, GMP/contracting-out, pensions advice allowance, Lifetime ISA, judicial/NHS/railway schemes, overseas pensions

Automatic enrolment Automatic Enrolment (Earnings Trigger and Qualifying Earnings Band) Order 2017 Under section 13 of the Pensions Act 2008 (PenA 2008), an individual’s qualifying earnings are those exceeding the amount in subsection (1)(a) and not surpassing the amount in subsection (1)(b). The earnings trigger for automatic enrolment and re-enrolment is the pay level at which employers must automatically place eligible jobholders into a qualifying workplace pension scheme. For money purchase arrangements, the qualifying earnings band identifies the slice of pay on which employers and workers must make at least the minimum contributions. Each tax year, the Secretary of State must review: the automatic enrolment earnings trigger the automatic re-enrolment earnings trigger the qualifying earnings band If the Secretary of State considers that any figures should be altered, they are amended by statutory instrument. Provisions under PenA 2008, sections 14 and 15A, permit, among other matters, increases to the amounts set out in section 13(1)(a) and (b)...

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