State pension age 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...

Women Against State Pension Inequality (WASPI) Women Against State Pension Inequality (WASPI) said that Pensions Minister Emma Reynolds will meet with them once the parliamentary summer recess ends on 2 September 2024. The government has so far, to date, yet to issue a formal response to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman’s report, published in March 2024. That report determined that the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) did not sufficiently communicate to the public the legislative changes to the women’s state pension age, which has resulted in many female retirees losing out financially...

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Rebecca Hilsenrath, interim ombudsman at the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO), urged MPs to hold the government to account. In its report published in March 2024, the PHSO found the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) failed to adequately inform the public about legislative changes to the women’s state pension age, leaving many female retirees worse off financially. The ombudsman recommended the department pay compensation of between £1,000 and £2,950 to each person affected. Campaign groups say around 3.9 million women have been affected by these legislative changes to the state pension age...

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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...

FORTHCOMING DEVELOPMENT : The Pensions (Extension of Automatic Enrolment) (No. 2) Bill secured Royal Assent on 18 September 2023, becoming the Pensions (Extension of Automatic Enrolment) Act 2023 (the Act), and was published on 19 September 2023. The Act confers powers on the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions to make regulations to: lower the minimum age at which otherwise eligible employees must be automatically enrolled and re-enrolled into a pension scheme by their employers; remove the Lower Earnings Limit from the qualifying earnings band so that contributions are calculated from the first pound of earnings; and revise the requirements for the annual review of the qualifying earnings band. Adjustments to automatic enrolment eligibility will proceed following a consultation on the detailed implementation method and timing. The commencement of section 1 of the Act is set to be ‘on such day or days as the Secretary of State may by regulations appoint’. For further information, see: DWP press release, Work...