280 lines
7.3 KiB
Plaintext
Executable File
280 lines
7.3 KiB
Plaintext
Executable File
finance
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personalfinance
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pensions
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8086637
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-----
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# Women to benefit most from pensions shake-up
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## The most radical overhaul of the pension system for 50 years will see
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everyone receive £140 a week and provide a "decent" retirement for all, the
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Government has said.
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![The most radical overhaul of the pension system for 50 years will see
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everyone receive 140 a week and provide a ?decent? retirement for all, the
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Government has said. ][1]
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Vince Cable, the Liberal Democrat Business Secretary, acknowledged that the
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proposal was 'very radical' and would need time to introduce Photo: DAVID ROSE
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By Myra Butterworth and Tim Ross 7:00AM BST 26 Oct 2010
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[Comments][2]
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The shake-up would end the current system of complex means-testing and replace
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it with a single weekly payment which would be the same for rich and poor
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alike.
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The reforms are expected particularly to benefit women, who often receive
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lower state pensions after taking time out of work to raise children.
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Vince Cable, the Liberal Democrat Business Secretary, acknowledged that the
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proposal was "very radical" and would need time to introduce.
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"This is a big idea that my colleague, the pensions minister Steve Webb, has
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been working on and indeed, we worked on it for years in opposition," he told
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the BBC.
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"It is to make sure people can look forward in retirement to a good state
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pension without means-testing."
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## Related Articles
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* [Are you ready for the new retirement?][3]
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25 Oct 2010
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* [State pension: Q&A][4]
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25 Oct 2010
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* [Fixed 140 a week for all pensioners][5]
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25 Oct 2010
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* [Savings plans that can help you retire at 65][6]
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22 Oct 2010
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* [State pension age could increase to 68 a decade earlier][7]
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25 Oct 2010
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The basic state pension is currently £97.65 for a single person and £156.15
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for a couple. Means-tested top-ups for the poorest ensure single pensioners
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have an income of at least £132.60 and couples get £202.40.
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The Treasury expects the change to be "cost neutral", as scrapping the current
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complicated and expensive system saves money from reduced bureaucracy to pay
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for the £140-a-week rate.
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However, experts raised concerns that the plan may prompt ministers to bring
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forward the increase in the retirement age to 68 in order to fund the new
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payments.
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Tom McPhail, a pensions specialist at the financial firm Hargreaves Lansdown
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said: "If the Government is struggling to pay for this new, more generous
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universal pension then it may look to make savings by introducing a more
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aggressive increase to the state pension age.
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"We have only just seen an announcement that the state pension age will rise
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to 66 by 2020, six years ahead of the previous timetable.
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"It now looks to me that we will see further announcements accelerating the
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rise to age 67 and 68 ahead of the original schedule of 2036 and 2046. Raising
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the state pension age saves the government a lot of money."
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The new system is particularly good news for women who have often suffered
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under the current framework because they have not built up sufficient National
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Insurance contributions while taking time off work to raise a family.
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Ros Altmann, director-general of Saga Group, welcomed the plan. She said:
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"This is a quid pro quo for suddenly raising the women's state pension age to
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66 in 2020, which will save money but hit women hard. This will give them back
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something in return.
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"The Government has already said that the timetable for pension state age
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increases will be reviewed and I don't think you could rule out the age
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increase being accelerated by a decade." Any future increases could be linked
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to rises in life expectancy.
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**[Get retirement planning and pensions advice][8] from [Telegraph Retirement
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Service ][9]**[![][10]][8]
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[X][11] Share & bookmark
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Delicious Facebook Google Messenger Reddit Twitter
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Digg Fark LinkedIn Google Buzz StumbleUpon Y! Buzz
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[What are these?][12]
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* Share: [Share][11] [ ][13] [ ][14]
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[Tweet][15]
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http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/pensions/8086637/Women-to-
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benefit-most-from-pensions-shake-up.html
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Telegraph
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## [Pensions][16]
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* ### [News »][17]
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* ### [UK News »][18]
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* ### [Personal Finance »][19]
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* ### [Myra Butterworth »][20]
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* ### [Tim Ross »][21]
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[![pensions-calculator][22]][23]
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### [Pensions Calculator][23]
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[![find an independent financial advisor][24]][25]
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### [Find an Independent financial adviser][25]
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Related Partners
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* [Telegraph Retirement Services][26]
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In finance
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[![Cartoon of couple planning pension][27] ][28]
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### [Clock ticks down on pension dreams][28]
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[![New state pension to be unveiled][29] ][4]
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### [State pension: Q&A][4]
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[![Composite of gas ring, shower, electricity meter and woman on phone - Five
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money-saving tips for pensioners][30] ][31]
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### [Five money-saving tips for pensioners][31]
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[![equity-release-guide][32]][33]
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### [The Daily Telegraph Guide to Equity Release][33]
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[X][11] Share & bookmark
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Delicious Facebook Google Messenger Reddit Twitter
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Digg Fark LinkedIn Google Buzz StumbleUpon Y! Buzz
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[What are these?][12]
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Share:
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* [ ][11]
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* [ ][13]
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* [ ][14]
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* [Tweet][15]
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* Advertisement
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![][34]
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telegraphuk
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Please enable JavaScript to view the [comments powered by Disqus.][35] [blog
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comments powered by Disqus][36]
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[![Retirement services][37]][38]
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Advertisement
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[TELEGRAPH RETIREMENT SERVICES »][39]
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### [Thinking about retirement?][16]
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**[1. Pensions Calculator][40]**
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> <b><a target="_blank" href="http:/telegraph.aegondirect.co.uk/retirement-
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income/retirement-calculators/pension-
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calculator?utm_source=tmg&utm_medium=box2&utm_campaign=retirement">2[.
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Retirement options explained][41]**
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> <b><a target="_blank" href="http:/telegraph.aegondirect.co.uk/retirement-
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income/retirement-
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options?utm_source=tmg&utm_medium=box4&utm_campaign=retirement">3[. How much
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income do you need?][42]**
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> <b><a target="_blank" href="http:/telegraph.aegondirect.co.uk/retirement-
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income/thinking-about-retiring/planning-your-
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income?utm_source=tmg&utm_medium=box5&utm_campaign=retirement">4[. What is an
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annuity?][43]**
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[Telegraph Offers »][44]
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