The State Pension is made up of basic State Pension and additional State Pension. The amount of basic State Pension you will receive when you reach State Pension age depends on the number of years you have paid or been treated as paying National Insurance contributions. These are called 'qualifying years'. In certain circumstances, you can be credited with National Insurance contributions when you are unable to do paid work.

Men need 44 qualifying years to get a full basic State Pension and women who reach 60 before 2010 need 39 qualifying years. But the State Pension age for women will change between 2010 and 2020 so the number of qualifying years a woman needs will gradually increase to 44 years.

Depending on your individual circumstances, you may be entitled to additional State Pension. As its name suggests, additional State Pension is paid in addition to the basic State Pension.
 

On 6 April 2002, the State Second Pension reformed SERPS to provide a more generous additional State Pension for low and moderate earners, and certain carers and people with long-term illness or disability. (Any SERPS entitlement already built up will be protected both for those who have already retired and for those who have not yet reached state pension age.)

There are a number of companies who provide free state pension advice & information. Make sure you get professional pension advice from a qualified financial advisor.

The main problem with the state pension is that due to improved social and medical conditions people are now living longer. But at the same time population growth is slowing so there are fewer younger people entering the job market.

This means fewer taxes are raised, so there's less money to pay for state pensioners.

In 1949 there were approx. 4 million pensioners in the UK. There are now 10.5 million. This is expected to rise to 12.5 million by 2025 and to 14 million by 2050. While there are now 4.5 working people to every pensioner, by 2025 there will only be 3.5

Meanwhile all the time the actual value of the state pension is getting less and less. Nobody actually knows if there will be a state pension at all for the younger generation.  All developed countries are facing the same problem.

Find the Best Financial Packages
At Sherlochs, we regularly update our pages with the very latest financial offers.  Find the best mortgage rates, cheapest loans, best insurance quotes and more.

Read the Latest Financial News
We regularly update this site with the very latest financial news.  Read the Financial Articles, and review the latest financial products.

Follow the links to the left to find information & advice on the Financial Product or Service you are looking for.