Re: Pension from goverment

It is £115.95, but that is only the basic, you should get a lot more than that if you have worked and payed NI.
Based on how much you have paid in,= there is additional state pension, and graduated retirement benefit added to the basic.

Re: Pension from goverment

I'm going to be honest. I don't think the state pension is that bad. Especially for couples. My mum and dad are happy with what they have and feel more sorry for young families. So do I.

Re: Pension from goverment

It's the young ones who will bear the brunt of the new pension changes, they will have to work longer for less.

Re: Pension from goverment

I agree Jimmy. Goodness knows what the pension will be worth by the time they reach pensionable age. Don't know what it will be worth when I do. Ten years away. I just hope the free bus pass doesn't come to an end. Nothing would surprise me.

Re: Pension from goverment

What annoys me is that when they sent my letter, they said that it was a change to my benefit.
It's not a bloody benefit, I have worked and paid into the system for 50 years to EARN it.

Re: Pension from goverment

I didn't realise they called it a benefit. Yes, that is a cheek!

Re: Pension from goverment

I imagine it's all about how big a money earner you were previously. If you earned big money, then the pension probably seems a pittance. If you earned a basic wage, then it seems reasonable. It seems reasonable to me.

Re: Pension from goverment

I have a letter from the DWP dated April 2013 that tells me that with my State Pension plus my SSP means I will get a minimum of £154 per week and it will be slightly higher than that anyway because I'm still paying National Insurance on my earnings because I earn £39 per week over the minimum allowance!

I had a confirming letter after I enquired again in October last year when I found that you could no longer get Forecasts online from the DWP Pension Service and I was trying to plan for my retirement.

I was Contracted out for about 6 years I think until I was advised to go back into SERPS many years ago by a Pensions expert provided by my then employer, the BBC.

He was right as far as I am concerned because I did the same with two further employers I was with after I was made redundant from the BBC that had their own Pension Schemes.

Those two small Pensions were hammered in terms of their value in 2008 and lost 47% but I managed to get a better deal in late 2010 when I moved the two to one provider.

If all my SERPS money had gone into them too I'd have lost even more and I'd not have the State Pension I will be getting in just under 20 months time. stevmk2

Re: Pension from goverment

It's just a case of having to cut your cloth.

Re: Pension from goverment

I've been contracted out for most of my working life and so I expect to just get the basic state pension. However, my main income will be from two indexed 'final salary' schemes.