finance personalfinance pensions 8086637 ----- # Women to benefit most from pensions shake-up ## The most radical overhaul of the pension system for 50 years will see everyone receive £140 a week and provide a "decent" retirement for all, the Government has said. ![The most radical overhaul of the pension system for 50 years will see everyone receive 140 a week and provide a ?decent? retirement for all, the Government has said. ][1] Vince Cable, the Liberal Democrat Business Secretary, acknowledged that the proposal was 'very radical' and would need time to introduce Photo: DAVID ROSE By Myra Butterworth and Tim Ross 7:00AM BST 26 Oct 2010 [Comments][2] The shake-up would end the current system of complex means-testing and replace it with a single weekly payment which would be the same for rich and poor alike. The reforms are expected particularly to benefit women, who often receive lower state pensions after taking time out of work to raise children. Vince Cable, the Liberal Democrat Business Secretary, acknowledged that the proposal was "very radical" and would need time to introduce. "This is a big idea that my colleague, the pensions minister Steve Webb, has been working on and indeed, we worked on it for years in opposition," he told the BBC. "It is to make sure people can look forward in retirement to a good state pension without means-testing." ## Related Articles * [Are you ready for the new retirement?][3] 25 Oct 2010 * [State pension: Q&A][4] 25 Oct 2010 * [Fixed 140 a week for all pensioners][5] 25 Oct 2010 * [Savings plans that can help you retire at 65][6] 22 Oct 2010 * [State pension age could increase to 68 a decade earlier][7] 25 Oct 2010 The basic state pension is currently £97.65 for a single person and £156.15 for a couple. Means-tested top-ups for the poorest ensure single pensioners have an income of at least £132.60 and couples get £202.40. The Treasury expects the change to be "cost neutral", as scrapping the current complicated and expensive system saves money from reduced bureaucracy to pay for the £140-a-week rate. However, experts raised concerns that the plan may prompt ministers to bring forward the increase in the retirement age to 68 in order to fund the new payments. Tom McPhail, a pensions specialist at the financial firm Hargreaves Lansdown said: "If the Government is struggling to pay for this new, more generous universal pension then it may look to make savings by introducing a more aggressive increase to the state pension age. "We have only just seen an announcement that the state pension age will rise to 66 by 2020, six years ahead of the previous timetable. "It now looks to me that we will see further announcements accelerating the rise to age 67 and 68 ahead of the original schedule of 2036 and 2046. Raising the state pension age saves the government a lot of money." The new system is particularly good news for women who have often suffered under the current framework because they have not built up sufficient National Insurance contributions while taking time off work to raise a family. Ros Altmann, director-general of Saga Group, welcomed the plan. She said: "This is a quid pro quo for suddenly raising the women's state pension age to 66 in 2020, which will save money but hit women hard. This will give them back something in return. "The Government has already said that the timetable for pension state age increases will be reviewed and I don't think you could rule out the age increase being accelerated by a decade." Any future increases could be linked to rises in life expectancy. **[Get retirement planning and pensions advice][8] from [Telegraph Retirement Service ][9]**[![][10]][8] [X][11] Share & bookmark Delicious Facebook Google Messenger Reddit Twitter Digg Fark LinkedIn Google Buzz StumbleUpon Y! Buzz [What are these?][12] * Share: [Share][11] [ ][13] [ ][14] [Tweet][15] http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/pensions/8086637/Women-to- benefit-most-from-pensions-shake-up.html Telegraph ## [Pensions][16] * ### [News »][17] * ### [UK News »][18] * ### [Personal Finance »][19] * ### [Myra Butterworth »][20] * ### [Tim Ross »][21] [![pensions-calculator][22]][23] ### [Pensions Calculator][23] [![find an independent financial advisor][24]][25] ### [Find an Independent financial adviser][25] Related Partners * [Telegraph Retirement Services][26] In finance [![Cartoon of couple planning pension][27] ][28] ### [Clock ticks down on pension dreams][28] [![New state pension to be unveiled][29] ][4] ### [State pension: Q&A][4] [![Composite of gas ring, shower, electricity meter and woman on phone - Five money-saving tips for pensioners][30] ][31] ### [Five money-saving tips for pensioners][31] [![equity-release-guide][32]][33] ### [The Daily Telegraph Guide to Equity Release][33] [X][11] Share & bookmark Delicious Facebook Google Messenger Reddit Twitter Digg Fark LinkedIn Google Buzz StumbleUpon Y! Buzz [What are these?][12] Share: * [ ][11] * [ ][13] * [ ][14] * [Tweet][15] * Advertisement ![][34] telegraphuk Please enable JavaScript to view the [comments powered by Disqus.][35] [blog comments powered by Disqus][36] [![Retirement services][37]][38] Advertisement [TELEGRAPH RETIREMENT SERVICES »][39] ### [Thinking about retirement?][16] **[1. Pensions Calculator][40]** > 2[. Retirement options explained][41]** > 3[. How much income do you need?][42]** > 4[. What is an annuity?][43]** [Telegraph Offers »][44] Loading sponsored features Loading Personal Finance Most Viewed * TODAY * PAST WEEK * PAST MONTH 1. [Standard tariffs costing energy customers 2bn a year][45] 2. [Can we gain in static markets?][46] 3. [How to bag a bargain in a flash][47] 4. [Why FTSE 100 investors should beware the `hippo market`][48] 5. [Insurers call for Government to end carnage among young drivers][49] 1. [UK’s ostrich generation: millions of Britons risk pension poverty][50] 2. [How to find out if you – or your family – helped give £400m to good causes today][51] 3. [Never mind naming Ryan Giggs, now for the real secrecy scandal][52] 4. [Home buyers to spend half of take-home pay on mortgage][53] 5. [10 tips to make your money grow – whatever the economic weather][54] 1. [A tax-based alternative to the Alternative Vote][55] 2. [Sunday Times Rich List 2011: Fortunes of super-rich soar][56] 3. [George Soros sells his gold][57] 4. [UK’s ostrich generation: millions of Britons risk pension poverty][50] 5. [Nationwide launches 'honeytrap' mortgage as house prices fall][58] ## [best sellers »][59] Advertisement Classified Advertising * [Property][60] * [Fine Arts][61] * [Shopping][62] Loading var puffs_8120648 = new Array();