Question
I was entitled and received a pension in my own right of approx £30 pw. On my husband's retirement my pension was just made up to a married woman's pension. Is it right that someone who has paid in for a number of years ends up with exactly the same as someone who has not paid in at all?Answer
I suppose the answer depends on how sympathetic you are to women (or men) taking time out from work to raise their family and/or do things other than work.
At present a women who hasn't built up a sufficient National Insurance (NI) contribution record to receive a full basic state pension at retirement can instead opt to claim on their husband's (or ex husband's) NI contribution record. However, they can only do when their husband reaches state pension age and their pension will be limited to 60% of their husband's basic state pension. Based on the 2012/134 basic state pension of £107.45 per week this means a pension of £64.40 - which is why the married couple's state pension is £171.85 (these two numbers added together).
Women who reached their state pension age before 6 April 2010 will automatically have received Home Responsibilities Protection for each complete tax year since 1978 they had been receiving Child Benefit for a child under 16 (basically to compensate for staying at home to raise their family). This was changed from 6 April 2010 to credit for each year they received Child Benefit for a child under 12 years of age.
I fully support credits when raising a family instead of working (in my limited experience it's far harder than work!). The 60% entitlement is arguably a bit outdated in this day and age, but then as more women work and build full qualifying Ni records it's less relevant in any case.
I was entitled and received a pension in my own right of approx £30 pw. On my husband's retirement my pension was just made up to a married woman's pension. Is it right that someone who has paid in for a number of years ends up with exactly the same as someone who has not paid in at all?Answer
I suppose the answer depends on how sympathetic you are to women (or men) taking time out from work to raise their family and/or do things other than work.
At present a women who hasn't built up a sufficient National Insurance (NI) contribution record to receive a full basic state pension at retirement can instead opt to claim on their husband's (or ex husband's) NI contribution record. However, they can only do when their husband reaches state pension age and their pension will be limited to 60% of their husband's basic state pension. Based on the 2012/134 basic state pension of £107.45 per week this means a pension of £64.40 - which is why the married couple's state pension is £171.85 (these two numbers added together).
Women who reached their state pension age before 6 April 2010 will automatically have received Home Responsibilities Protection for each complete tax year since 1978 they had been receiving Child Benefit for a child under 16 (basically to compensate for staying at home to raise their family). This was changed from 6 April 2010 to credit for each year they received Child Benefit for a child under 12 years of age.
I fully support credits when raising a family instead of working (in my limited experience it's far harder than work!). The 60% entitlement is arguably a bit outdated in this day and age, but then as more women work and build full qualifying Ni records it's less relevant in any case.
Read this Q and A at http://www.candidmoney.com/askjustin/823/is-the-married-couples-pension-fair
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