Changes to the requirements to earn a full State pension come into force from 6th April 2010.
Under the current rules, men need a total of 44 ‘qualifying years’ of National Insurance contributions in order to get the full basic State pension. Women need 39 qualifying years.
From midnight on 6th April, the number of qualifying years is being reduced to 30 for both men and women.
Those reaching State pension age (currently 60 for women and 65 for men) on or shortly before the 5th of April might be feeling a little unfairly treated as a result of these changes. Being born on the ‘wrong side of midnight’ could mean that a 65 year old man gets substantially less of a State pension income in retirement if he has fewer than 44 qualifying years of NI contributions.
If you reach State pension age without a full contribution record, you will receive a reduced amount (or nothing at all if you have less than 25% of the qualifying years needed).
It is possible to top-up your State pension entitlement by paying voluntary National Insurance contributions for tax years which did not count towards your qualifying years. There is a good guide to this process on the Directgov website here.
Another big change to the State pension starting from 6th April 2010 is the phased increase to the State pension age from 60 to 65 for women, the same age at which men can claim their State pension.
This is likely to be the first of a series of increases to the State pension age, which is currently set to increase from 65 to 68 by 2044, for both men and women. Future Governments could increase if faster or further.
