State Pension meaning

The auto-enrolment duty Since 1 October 2012, at their staging date employers must auto‑enrol eligible jobholders into a qualifying pension scheme, allow opt‑outs, pay minimum contributions, and re‑enrol every three years. They also had to identify their staging date, workers, and scheme. Identifying the staging date PAYE 120,000+: from 1 October 2012. Under 120,000: 1 Nov 2012 to 1 Apr 2017. PAYE first payable Apr 2012–Sep 2017: 1 May 2017 to 1 Feb 2018. On/after 1 Oct 2017: first worker’s start date. DB or hybrid schemes could defer to 1 Oct 2017. Staging could be moved, and auto‑enrolment postponed up to three months. Who needs to be enrolled automatically? Eligible jobholders work (or ordinarily work) in Great Britain under a worker’s contract, are 22 to under State Pension age, and have qualifying earnings above the earnings trigger. What type of pension scheme can be used? ...

The single tier State Pension (on and from 6 April 2016) On 6 April 2016, the Basic State Pension was overhauled and replaced by a single-tier, flat-rate pension, merging the Basic State Pension with the Second State Pension. From that date, men and women alike must have 35 qualifying years of National Insurance contributions to receive the full flat-rate amount. Marital status makes no difference to the level paid. Tax year Amount (per week) 2026/2027 £241.30 2025/2026 £230.25 2024/2025 £221.20 2023/2024 £203.85 2022/2023 £185.15 2021/2022 £179.60 2020/2021 £175.20 2019/2020 £168.60 2018/2019 £164.35 2017/2018 £159.55 2016/2017 £155.65 The Basic State Pension (before 6 April 2016) Before 6 April 2016, the Basic State Pension comprised the Basic State Pension and the Second State Pension. There was a third, minor, component known as the graduated pension that depended on graduated National Insurance contributions paid by employees while the graduated scheme ran from 1961 to...

Aon Plc reported that merely 2% of those polled from defined benefit-style schemes plan to allocate to UK productive finance during 2025–26, overall. The firm noted, notably in comparable surveys run in recent years, a waning appetite among pension schemes for illiquid assets, according to Aon. We expected this pattern to create a major obstacle to the UK government’s aims of boosting pension scheme investment in UK productive finance, the company added...

Gateway tests On 17 July 2024, the Society of Pensions Professionals (SPP) reported that a poll of 300 event participants showed 53% in favour of applying the tests to any transaction involving the planned state-backed consolidator. Gateway tests form part of the interim rules governing commercial superfunds. They stipulate that a superfund transaction may proceed only when a pension scheme cannot presently secure a buyout and has no realistic near-term prospect of doing so, and only when the deal increases the probability of members receiving their full benefits, as set out in the interim regulations currently...

What is the background to the Pension Schemes Bill? The Pension Schemes Bill reached the House of Commons on 5 June 2025, which was hardly unexpected. It had featured in the King’s Speech at the State Opening of Parliament for the new Labour Government in July 2024, and has been referenced on numerous occasions since. As is common with pensions legislation, it was designed to encompass a variety of issues, several of which had been under consideration by the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) for some years. Accordingly, its eventual arrival was widely anticipated. What are the key measures/provisions in the Bill? The Bill is arranged in five parts. The first part concentrates on defined benefit (DB) schemes and addresses two quite distinct matters: Asset pooling for the Local Government Pension Scheme. Allowing trustees to agree to the return of surplus in a DB scheme to the employer, which, among other things, removes the restrictions under section 251 of the Pensions Act...

This Practice Note outlines the available resources concerning safeguards and liabilities arising from acts or failures to act that constitute sexual orientation discrimination, or other forms of prohibited conduct linked to sexual orientation. The detail here is intentionally limited, as the principal aim is to point subscribers towards comprehensive materials contained in additional Practice Notes that explore each element in depth. Consequently, treat this Practice Note as an entry point for research; full coverage is provided only in the places signposted below. Its role is to point you forward, not to replace the comprehensive Practice Notes that address each strand of the topic at length, and the links below are where complete information is intended to be consulted and used. The characteristics protected The Equality Act 2010 (EqA 2010) affords protection against discrimination and other prohibited conduct connected to particular listed characteristics a person may have. Some protections apply solely to one such characteristic. Others operate uniformly across all of them, which together are described as ‘the protected...

ARCHIVED: This archived Practice Note centres on the abolition of contracting-out on a money purchase (or protected rights) basis, taking effect from 6 April 2012. It is not maintained and remains archived. For general information concerning the meaning of contracting-out, see the Practice Note entitled: What does ‘contracting-out’ mean for pension lawyers? Contracting-out on a money purchase basis before 6 April 2012 Contracting-out was the route by which an individual (whether employed or self-employed) could choose to waive accrual of the part of the State pension which, before 6 April 2016, was called the additional State pension (or Second State Pension (S2P)). Contracting-out on a money purchase basis (also known as DC contracting-out) first became possible in April 1988. A money purchase form of contracting-out required the relevant contracted-out pension scheme to grant members ‘protected rights’ in lieu of the state benefits forgone as a consequence of contracting-out. Schemes contracted-out on a money purchase basis Before 6 April 2012, protected rights could be provided through the...

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...

To: Newcastle Pension Centre, Futures GroupThe Pension Service9 Post Handling Site AWolverhamptonWV98 1AFUK Date: [ insert date ] Dear Pension Service Our client: [ insert client’s name ] Date of birth: [ insert dd/mm/yyyy ] National Insurance number: [ insert NI number ] We represent [ insert client’s name ] in connection with divorce and financial proceedings. Please find enclosed: a letter of authority executed by our client permitting you to disclose information to us concerning their state pension [ a completed Form BR19 ] [ a completed Form BR20 ] We would be grateful if you would provide us with a [ state pension statement AND/OR cash equivalent (CE) valuation of any additional state pension ]. We look forward to hearing from you. Yours faithfully [ firm name ] Enc [ Form BR19 ] [ Form BR20 ]...

[ name of Pension Service office ] [ address of Pension Service office ] [ enter date ] Dear [ enter Pension Service office ] The late [ name of deceased ] National Insurance number: [ National Insurance number ] Further to our correspondence dated [ date of last letter ] we write to confirm that a...

Filed on behalf of the Claimant Statement of [ insert initial and surname of witness ] Statement number: [ insert number of witness statement in relation to the witness ] Exhibits: [ insert initials and number of each exhibit referred to ] Statement date: [ insert date ] [ Translation date: [ insert date ] ] [ At the County Court at [ INSERT ] or the High Court of Justice ] [ Division: [ SPECIFY DIVISION ] ] [ Specialist Court: [ SPECIFY SPECIALIST COURT ] ] [ District Registry: [ INSERT LOCATION ] ] Claim number: [ insert number ] Between A Claimant and B Defendant WITNESS STATEMENT OF [ INSERT FULL NAME ] I, [ insert full name ], of [ insert full address and occupation ], state as follows: Unless otherwise indicated, the facts and matters set out in this statement are within my personal knowledge, and I believe them...

A pension sharing order A pension sharing order enables one party to obtain, in their own name and in their own right, benefits directly debited from the other party’s pension scheme, and secures a clean break between the parties regarding pensions. Sections 11 and 12 of the Welfare Reform and Pensions Act 1999 (WRPA 1999) state that pension rights under approved pension schemes do not vest in a trustee in bankruptcy, provided the bankruptcy petition was presented on or after 29 May 2000 under the legislation. Consequently, if the individual holding the pension to be shared is made bankrupt, the court’s authority to make a pension sharing order should remain unaffected in law...