Will i get a pension?

Ivrytwr3

My wife is under the impression that we will not be getting a pension due to the Government doing away with them; we are due to retire in 2035 and 2036 (me with a private military pension also).

We are both workers (1 x part time and 1 x full time) and so both pay taxes and NI. I have no idea where she has got this information from as i believe we will be entitled to a pension.

Anyone know if there is any truth in this or has the information she been given been exaggerated a little?!

Ta!

EdInvestor

Find out how much you will get via your NI contributions by getting a forecast here:

https://www.thepensionservice.gov.uk

Ivrytwr3

i looked on there and it states we will be of pensionable age at the afore mentioned dates. But i'd still like to know how she came to the conclusion the Government are scrapping pensions entirely.

cheerfulcat

It is quite possible that state pensions will be unaffordable by the time you come to retire, and that they will thus be much reduced or means tested. I don't think that anyone has actually come out and said as much, though. I certainly wouldn't plan my retirement around the state pension...

EdInvestor

The Government isn't scrapping pensions.She's got the wrong end of the stick.If you want to find out how much you will get, fill in the application form on that website and they will tell you.You can check it every year.

Recent changes in the rules are likely to benefit many people with better state pensions in fact.

Debt_Free_Chick

Ivrytwr3 wrote:

i looked on there and it states we will be of pensionable age at the afore mentioned dates. But i'd still like to know how she came to the conclusion the Government are scrapping pensions entirely.

There is currently no plan to scrap pensions entirely.

However, you need to trust politicians to be sure that there will still be a State pension (i.e. funded by the taxpayer) when you come to retire.

cheerfulcat

The Government isn't scrapping pensions.

Anything can happen in twenty years. It is best not to rely on the state pension still being around that far down the line.

EdInvestor

I would say it's very likely the UK state pension will still exist in a similar form to now in 20 years' time.

The reason for this is that it is already low enough to be sustainable.Other countries pay out much higher state benefits now, but are struggling, because they won't be able to afford to do this forever.

So the comment is relevant to young French, German, Italian (especially Itaian) or even American people. In those nations it's very likely that the state pensions they can look for will be much lower than now - ie they will have to come down to the UK level to be affordable long term.

By contrast we are already there.

cheerfulcat

Ed, it is totally irresponsible of you to encourage someone with twenty years to go to retirement to think that the state pension " will still exist in a similar form to now ". The fact is, no-one knows. Not you, not anyone else. However, chances are that with an aging population and more and more calls on an already creaking social welfare system, there will not be enough money to provide a pension for everyone; even the government has admitted this so I don't know why you can't see it.

A prudent person would provide for his or her own retirement and view any state pension as a bonus.

The reason for this is that it is already low enough to be sustainable.

What planet do you live on?

dunstonh

The basic state pension is still likely to exist but that is only worth £4381 a year at present. Its the second state pension/Serps that is likely to be in danger. Four times that has been reduced since it was introduced. Its the one they can play around with without requiring primary legislation (unlike the state pension). Its also the one that most people dont know much about.

Self employed individuals dont get the second state pension/Serps so quite a lot of the population wouldnt miss it anyway. There is also periodic talk about a move to a single state pension as well.

We all know that with the current level of taxation/NI, that the current level of state pension is not sustainable from around 2030 onwards. There has to be change. This is either reduction/removal of state pension or massive tax increases. Most expect something in between.

When planning for retirement, you should treat the state pension as a bonus and not be reliant on it. There will almost certainly be something but do you really want to rely on the state?

EdInvestor

The OP should just go and get a forecast of what his two state pensions are likely to amount to and then if that's not enough,start additional saving.
His SERPS may double the basic pension.

As to the future nobody here has a crystal ball, but the state pension these days pays out a lot more than it did 30 years ago.

No doubt they wrote it off then too.