Changes in pensions mean changes for our lives – The New State Pension, what’s changed.
With retirement now lasting over 20 years it’s now more important than ever to make sure you do everything you can to prepare for a long, happy and comfortable retirement. Many are being caught short with increasing living expenses along with increasing life spans. With a pot of over £121,000 needed to maintain a yearly income of £15,800 (This Money), thinking for the future must be a high priority for all, including the Government.
Recent changes in the state pension are due to be rolled out in under 600 days, it will alter the amount women will receive, in order to reflect the time they have spent raising and caring for their families. It’s reported that 650,000 women will receive an extra £8 a week from the government under the new pension system. As of April 2016 a new “more simple” state pension will replace both the basic and additional state pension. With a few major changes, the Government states that women will be the main “winners” from the upcoming alterations.
These changes for women have come about after a call for recognition that there are years women have spent out of work looking after their families where pension contributions are limited. The extra £8 a week at first seems insignificant but it amounts to over £400 a year, either adding to a saved pension pot or reducing the need to save this much in the first place. Championing this, Steve Webb states that “All years spent contributing to society, whether through paid work or caring responsibilities, will be of equal value.”
We’ve seen an on going trend in the modernisation of the UK’s pensions schemes, it’s confirmed by the Pensions Regulator, that over 4 million people have been enrolled into a workplace pension as part of the Government’s auto enrolment scheme started in 2012 as pensions undergo the most drastic changes seen in a long time.
Make sure changes in pensions don’t catch you out, prepare for all eventualities with lifetime planning from Ernest Grant.
