The government says it wants to bring forward raising the state pension age to 66. The question is, when?
The state pension age for women is increasing from 60 to 65 in the next ten years, but the government wants it to rise to 66.
One of the changes announced in the Budget that I’m sure will concern many - particularly women - is George Osborne’s plans to bring forward an increase in the state pension age to 66. Although the state pension age for men could rise in just over five years, an increase would affect women more as a higher number of women than men rely on the state pension as the bedrock of their retirement. The state pension age is already being increased from 60 to 65, phased in over a ten-year period from 2010 to 2020. What could this latest announcement mean?
Women who’ve not yet reached 60 will have to wait longer for their state pension.
From April 6th, the state pension age for women rose from 60 to 65 – but many women aren’t aware of this.
April 6th saw the introduction of some major pension reforms – the biggest changes to the state pension system for decades. I’ve already written about how women will only have to pay National Insurance for 30 years (not 39 as previously) and how changes will make it easier for carers to qualify for a state pension. Both of these changes should help women, but one of the other major changes won’t leave women better off, as the age at which women will be paid their state pension is rising from 60 to 65. So how will it work and who will be affected?
Changes to state pension rules mean you'll get a full state pension with only 30 years’ National Insurance contributions.
On April 6th, major reforms of the state pension service took effect including a reduction in the number of years you need to pay NI to get a full pension.
The government’s changes to state pensions introduced on April 6th will undoubtedly help a lot of women to qualify for a full basic state pension when previously they wouldn’t have paid National Insurance for long enough. However, there’s a lot of confusion about how these changes will work, so in this article I’ll explain how the reduction in the number of qualifying years you have to pay National Insurance for could affect you.
