State pension changes?

Elizabeth_Kelly

Hi All,

I have a question regarding the changes to the pension the government is bringing in. There was a lot of talk about being given early access to your pension pot say for instance if you hit hard times. What happened to this idea. Has it been dumbed just like many other grand ideas.

Also if you were given early access to your pension pot wouldn't this mean you would not be allowed to claim any benefits say if you lost your job because the pension would under this new rule be classified as your saving. Wasn't this new proposed change just a way to cut benefits payments.

What if any guarantee is there this rule wont be brought in at a later date or some other silly rules. Have lost all trust in this pension nonsense. Just read some of the stories above.

Liz

hethmar

Well I retired just before the new 30 stamps eligibility came in, even though I paid more money in for the last couple of years my total pension after the rise is £87.

margaretclare

Errata wrote: »

How does that work ONW, when the SRP is £97 ?

It'll be down to SERPS/S2P being added, won't it.

Because DH was never opted-out into an employer's pension scheme he gets SERPS, bringing the total to almost double the SRP.

Oldernotwiser

Errata wrote: »

How does that work ONW, when the SRP is £97 ?

I haven't had the breakdown yet but I assume that it's things like SERPS and the other extra things you pay in for when you're not contracted out. (You can tell that pensions aren't my strong point!)

Although my career jobs were contracted out they were only about half of my working life so I assume the other 15 years, when I wasn't paying into an occupational pension, I was contracted in to whatever was around at the time.

lilac_lady

I hope everyone enjoys their pensions and use them to lead a more comfortable lifestyle if they can. It's worrying to hear of so many pensioners keeping large cash amounts in the home etc and not using heating or buying decent food and clothes.

margaretclare

lilac_lady wrote: »

I hope everyone enjoys their pensions and use them to lead a more comfortable lifestyle if they can. It's worrying to hear of so many pensioners keeping large cash amounts in the home etc and not using heating or buying decent food and clothes.

Anyone who keeps large amounts of cash in the home is a total idiot. Anything other than the normal weekly spend should be in the bank. If not, you're just asking for the opportunist burglar to come along and rob you to fund his habit of booze and 'weed'. I've read enough accounts of these burglaries in the local paper. The cry is 'He was only in there for a couple of minutes!' That means, usual hiding places are well known.

Our heating bills have gone down, which is a surprise following the long cold winter. We get a discount for paying by direct debit, for having dual-fuel, and for reading the meter and submitting the reading online, a triple discount.

Food is certainly costing more, maybe partly down to increased transport costs. I think at this stage of life it is quality before quantity that matters. Good nutrition and healthy eating is what is so crucially important in maintaining health.

Now I've stopped taking statins I can eat grapefruit again, and we bought a couple yesterday. Late breakfast this morning!

pollypenny

I was two years short on my state pension - daft enough to go for the Married Women's stamp - the few quid saving made a difference then!

However, after two years I opted back in thankfully.

Delayed taking my pension by 20 weeks, as I was still working, which made up the difference. Now I get the full £104.

It is galling that those who haven't paid will get the same, but I suppose they'd have had it through pension credit or something.

funnyguy

Being my wifes toyboy,she receives her pension later this year,but mine will be in 2020.So how will they work out pension rates when one partner is in old scheme and one will be in the new?

seven-day-weekend

funnyguy wrote: »

Being my wifes toyboy,she receives her pension later this year,but mine will be in 2020.So how will they work out pension rates when one partner is in old scheme and one will be in the new?

Why should there be a problem? She will get paid hers according to the old scheme and you will get paid yours according to the new. They are two separate pensions, not a 'joint' one.

Newly_retired

Despite failing to jump through a lot of hoops ( retired too soon to benefit from the new 30 yr contribution rule, a few years of paying married womens stamp, worked p/t so not eligible for HRP) I have managed to get my SRP total up to £110, with graduated, SSP, Serps etc and extra pension for deferring. Still well short of the £140 projected, and not eligible for the new universal pension.
So the system isn't "fair" but few of the benefits systems are fair, let alone understandable.
Overall I am glad not to have to work till I'm 66 or more, already got my bus pass and winter fuel allowance, also Teacher's Pension ( 20 yrs worth as I didn't pay in at first when I was part time).