State Retirement Pensions

Steve Webb Excerpts

Wednesday 15th May 2013 Ministerial Corrections

[Yasmin Qureshi]

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people will not get a full pension as a result of any increase in the qualifying period from 30 to 35 years.

[Official Report, 25 April 2013, Vol. 561, c. 1090W.]

Letter of correction from Steve Webb:

An error has been identified in the written answer given to the hon. Member for Bolton South East (Yasmin Qureshi) on 25 April 2013.

The full answer given was as follows:

[Steve Webb]

The single-tier pension will require 35 qualifying years of National Insurance contributions or credits for the full amount. Based on the illustrative amount of £144 for the full single-tier pension in 2012-13 terms set out in the White Paper, 30 qualifying years under the single-tier scheme would be equivalent to a value of £123.43 a week.

Under the current state pension system, people reaching State Pension age today require 30 qualifying years for the full amount of basic State Pension currently £107.00 a week and can make contributions to the State Second Pension for each year in their working life. When the single-tier pension is implemented we will recognise contributions made under the current system and translate them into a single-tier pension foundation amount.

In the long term around 85% of people will get the full single-tier pension under the proposals outlined in the White Paper published in January. Chart 4.1 shows the proportion who will receive the full single-tier pension by the year in which people reach State Pension age. In the early years of the reforms most people receiving less than the full single-tier amount will do so because they will have a deduction applied to take into account periods when they were contracted out of the additional State Pension, rather than because they have fewer than 35 qualifying years.

The correct answer should have been:

[Steve Webb]

The single-tier pension will require 35 qualifying years of National Insurance contributions or credits for the full amount. Based on the illustrative amount of £144 for the full single-tier pension in 2012-13 terms set out in the White Paper, 30 qualifying years under the single-tier scheme would be equivalent to a value of £123.43 a week.

Under the current state pension system, people reaching State Pension age today require 30 qualifying years for the full amount of basic State Pension currently £110.15 a week and can make contributions to the State Second Pension for each year in their working life. When the single-tier pension is implemented we will recognise contributions made under the current system and translate them into a single-tier pension foundation amount.

In the long term around 85% of people will get the full single-tier pension under the proposals outlined in the White Paper published in January. Chart 4.1 shows the proportion who will receive the full single-tier pension by the year in which people reach State Pension age. In the early years of the reforms most people receiving less than the full single-tier amount will do so because they will have a deduction applied to take into account periods when they were contracted out of the additional State Pension, rather than because they have fewer than 35 qualifying years.