Ask the Pensions Minister about the future of pensions

spot2

I was surprised to learn that the much vaunted "free bus pass" that the Government is committed to retain does not apply to half the population of pensioners. Apparently my next door neoighbour who is 60 gets his, but the law is now changed so that I will have to wait until I am about 64 before qualifying, due to changes to minimum pension age. I, like many others, have been forced into early retirement and have to now struggle for 5 years until I reach state pension age. I have sold my car to make ends meet, and now pay almost £4 per day to get a return ticket to town. I am probably the only one on the bus who does pay!!! How does this help me to join in the "Big Society" with voluntary work, and how does this comply with Ageism laws? There is now a distinct "one rule for some, another rule for others" operating. Why on earth does someone not have the sense to realise that at 60 years old everyone should be treated the same? Lets introduce SUBSIDISED fares where all over 60's contribute a fair and reasonable amount for a return ticket to town for essential shopping - say £1, which will be fair, understandable, transparent, and not an undue drain on ones scant finances. As Peter Stringfellow suggested, if you dont need it you dont have to accept it!

maryharrod

I will qualify for the State Pension next year and since I have not worked for many years I have recently paid over £6,500 in a.v.c.s to maximise my entitlement. Now it is proposed that residency rather than n.i.c.s will determine entitlement, which would seem to be an open invitation to pension tourists and would be grossly unfair to British nationals who have lived in this country all their lives and contributed to the Exchequer all their working lives. Will those of us who have paid additional sums be refunded?

maryginger

I understand that everyone under 65 will get £1000 extra Tax Allowance 2011/2012, What are Pensions going to get, because if we get a Pension rise, this is put against our Tax Allowance to work out our Tax Code, which we have to pay on our other Pensions? Could not live on State Pension alone!

TerryGB

The previous government divorced the basic state pension from the overall state pension. My basic state pension went up by 2.5%, but my total state pension went up by only 1% because there was zero increase in Additional State Pension and Graduated Retirement Benefit.
No warning was made of the possibility of this happening in my Retirement Pension Forecast, which I obtained before actually retiring as was, and still is, recommended as part of preparing for retirement.
I trust that the present government will be re-linking all parts of the State Pension, so that the annual inflation rise will be an honest inflation increase, rather than a paltry pittance.

flamingo4

Is it really neccessary to tax pensioners. I saved for my pension, worked until I was nearly 66yrs old and now find I am not entitled to any benefits and I also pay £2000 per year on my pensions.
Give us a few perks i.e. free Passports. Those born before 1929 get them but if you were born couple years later you miss out. Let us travel on the rail for free. We have to go out because we cannot afford the heating so it would be nice to be sitting on a train instead of just changing buses.

dangermike

Hi Martin - I would really welcome more clear-cut advice on pensions in general on the moneysaving site. I have found the site wonderful for saving money in the £100's range from everyday savings and utility savings etc, but it is so difficult to get clear answers to the fundamental questions about pensions such as 'how much should I put into the pension', 'what are the options for pensions', 'what does all the pensions jargon mean', 'how should I plan for earlier / later retirement' etc etc. Yet these questions are ultimately among the most important for financial planning and education.

down

Why are we being taxed on State Pensions which the Government are classing as earnings after you reach pension age? The State Pension has been paid for by National Insurance Contributions and Graduated Insurance Contributions deducted from earnings after tax, earned during our working lives.

How anyone can possibly work out a projected figure for pension due when reaching pension age is beyond me, as anyone taking the above into account and if they take out a private pension plan on which they are given a tax free allowance only to end up having pay tax on the pension plan earnings at a later date thus paying tax on a larger figure when they reach pension age. Surely it would be better to pay the tax now when they are working and not to have to pay it when they retire.

dry_white

My husband and I have stayed together through the bad times as well as the good. On retirement he received the full pension I received a reduced pension as I only paid married womens stamp before having our children and then had time off to bring then up, before returning to work until the age of 65. I cannot claim the excess payments that my husband made towards his pension as we are still together. But a friend of mine who is divorced has been able to claim the overpayment made by her ex husband. So because we are still married I receive less in pension payments although I have worked longer and contibuted more than her. Is this fair?

Soubrette

My daughter, who is 16, is looking at student fees of £9,000 a year plus living costs, a housing market where she is expected to save at least a 20%-25% deposit for a house many times the multipe of average salary and save for a pension because the state pension when she retires is likely to be derisory.

How is she supposed to prioritise saving for a pension at a time when there are so many other expensive debts and priorities for her even though we all know the earlier you start a pension the better?

385uyana

Due to an anomaly in the State Pension scheme I and my wife have been left with lesser amounts as state pension

When I retired in 1998 one had to have 44 qualifying years of NI contributions to get the full state Pension. I had 29 qualifying years of contributions and I was awarded 66% of the basic state pension which worked out to £42.70 per week.

My wife reached the state retirement age of 60 years on 30 Oct 1998. Unfortunately, due to our not being advised of its consequences, my wife had opted to pay the reduced rate NI contributions. This resulted in her being entitled to a pension on my contributions equivalent to 60% of my state pension which worked out to £25.54 per week.

The anomaly arose from the government decision to reduce the number of years for qualifying for the full state pension from 44 years to 30 years. I have nearly 30 qualifying years but I get only 66% of the full state pension. A person retiring now with only 20 qualifying years (66% of 30) would get the same pension that I get. If the qualifying years were applied to those who had retired as well I would be entitled to almost the full pension. Consequently my wife would also get 60% of my enhanced pension. This would benefit us to a better quality of life during these advanced years.