State Pension Age

blobby8

joshly wrote: »

I am 50 years old.

Therefore I think I would retire at 67 which will be 2034.

A couple of times recently people have mentioned in conversation that there wont be a State Pension by the time I retire.

Will there still be a state pension in 2034?

"They" wont let you starve, or freeze, or be without a roof over your head, or go without medical treatment.

A pensioner now who has made no provision for their old age has a fairly decent life. Someone who has worked in a low wage job all their lives fairs little better.

joshly

Thank-you for the replies.


Is there anyway I can find out if I have paid enough NI contributions in the past to qualify for a state pension in 2034?


I ask because my first job as a teenager I was asked to go self-employed and I bought a stamp every week. But work was sporadic.
I did start paying into a private pension but as work was not constant I had to stop that. It wont be worth much at all, a couple of thousand. I can get it at 55 apparently.
Later as I had my own small business I bought a NI stamp every week.
But for the past 5 years I tried a different line of work from home (which has recently failed) and the Accountant I used at the beginning contacted HMRC and they said I do not need to buy a NI stamp because I would be taxed under CGT. Ultimately I ended losing money that I invested in the business.

zagfles

No credible politician, analyst or think tank is suggesting abolishing or means testing the state pension. It would be political suicide, it would discourage saving, it would make a complete mockery of the pension freedoms announced a couple of years ago, which can only really work if there's a (non means tested) state pension to fall back on.

The age might rise, the triple lock might be ditched, but I'd bet my house on it still being there in 2034 and at the sort of value it's now worth.

zagfles

joshly wrote: »

Thank-you for the replies.


Is there anyway I can find out if I have paid enough NI contributions in the past to qualify for a state pension in 2034?


I ask because my first job as a teenager I was asked to go self-employed and I bought a stamp every week. But work was sporadic.
I did start paying into a private pension but as work was not constant I had to stop that. It wont be worth much at all, a couple of thousand. I can get it at 55 apparently.
Later as I had my own small business I bought a NI stamp every week.
But for the past 5 years I tried a different line of work from home (which has recently failed) and the Accountant I used at the beginning contacted HMRC and they said I do not need to buy a NI stamp because I would be taxed under CGT. Ultimately I ended losing money that I invested in the business.

See https://www.gov.uk/check-state-pension

colsten

PensionTech wrote: »

Graduates waiting three years before becoming eligible... I haven't heard this myself.

It was in the Times last week, a leak by someone who claims they know about the interim Cridland report which is due to be published this Thursday. Remains to be seen how much truth there is to the rumour - as well as what will be in the final report, and more importantly, what Government(s) will make of the Cridland recommendations.

For now, and I think for the next 10 years at least, Graduates won't pay any penalty

bigfreddiel

PensionTech wrote: »

Graduates waiting three years before becoming eligible... I haven't heard this myself. I would think it a strange policy, but it's not like students tend to be massively sheltered from political manoeuvres, so I suppose it might be plausible. Still, with State Pension Age the way it is, and the number of qualifying years needed to build up a full NI record being relatively low, I don't think this would be the end of the world.

It's been in all the newspapers, can't understand how you could have missed it.

fj

jamesd

According to the Daily Mail a proposal is instead of age 68 for all, age 70 for graduates and age 63 for others. Apparently the purpose is to try to deal with the inequality in life expectancy and hence number of years receiving the state pension.

Since life expectancy is significantly correlated with intelligence which in turn is correlated with education there's some logic in there. But not as much logic as asking a few basic health questions closer to state pension age to get some idea of the life expectancy of the individual.

westv

Sounds like a load of nonsense to me.

Edit: Although I wouldn't say no to getting the SP at 63!

dunstonh

It should be noted that it is not government policy and it is not the Government that is suggesting this. It is a review commissioned by Ros Altmann but it is independent of the Government but for the benefit of Government.

Ros Altmann is out of favour and the recommendations are really little different to those put forward by think tanks all the time. I suspect all non-essential Government issues will be sidelined for the next few years as the various departments focus on brexit.

Witless

dunstonh wrote: »

The state pension was introduced over 100 years ago.

The basic state pension was introduced in January 1909. A pension of 5 shillings per week (25p, equivalent, using the Consumer Price Index, to £24 in present-day terms), or 7s.6d per week (equivalent to £35 today) for a married couple, was payable to a person with an income below £21 per annum (equivalent to £2000 today), following the passage of the Old Age Pensions Act 1908.

The qualifying age was 70, and the pensions were subject to a means test.