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British Pensions

Discussion in '☋ General Chat ☋' started by Jack Peterson, Jun 8, 2010.

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  1. Broadside

    Broadside DI Forum Patron

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    Up-date on the UK Age Related Pension.

    The qualifying age for the UK pension is changing. If you were born before 06 December 1953 these changes will not affect you and you will still be able to claim your age related pension at the age of 65. If you were born after this date, you will be entitled to your pension at age 66, but take note that there is a timetable being produced which will gradually increase the pension age to 68. The present pension age in UK is 60 for women and 65 for men.These changes affect men only, as the womens pension age is already undergoing change and is being gradually phased in so that men and women receive their pensions at the same age.

    On reaching retirement age, your tax-free allowance (i.e. the amount of money you are allowed to earn before you pay any UK tax) increases from £6475 to £9490. These figures are based on the current tax allowances for the year April 2010 to April 2011, but will probably be increased in the Parliamentary Budget due in March 2011.
    In its' simplest form, any pensions that you get which originate from a UK source, be it the retirement pension, public service pension, military pension, employers pension or private pension, are all added together. The first £9490 is tax free and the remainder is taxed at the basic rate of 20%. The only crumb of comfort in this is that at 65 you stop paying any further National Insurance contributions.
    War pensions (i.e. a pension that is paid for injuries received on active military service) are not included in the sum total, as these are already paid free of tax and are disregarded in the totting up procedure.
    I know the system sux, and few if any countries in the western world treat their pensioners and veterans with such utter contempt as the British government, but that's the way it is at present. If it happened in France there would be riots in the streets.

    As an afterthought, many UK pensioners who have emigrated to some countries within the Commonwealth, notably Australia South Africa and Canada, do not receive the annual pension increase, and their pension continues to be paid at the rate it was set at when they retired, consequently after 10 years the pension is not worth a light. However, there is a reciprocal pension agreement between UK and the Philippines, therefore any UK citizen resident in the Philippines will automatically get any annual increase in their age related pension.
    I wish I could influence the rules but I have no clout in that direction, but I will continue to badger, bait and attempt to shame those in authority who do have influence. All I can do at the moment is to pass on what I know and hope that its of benefit to any Forum members who find it relevant.

    Roger
     
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    Jack Peterson

    Jack Peterson DI Forum Luminary Highly Rated Poster SC Connoisseur Veteran Air Force

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    Great Post!

    :smile: Broardside, Great to hear this, albeit, not always good news, I wonder if you know what I may expect in payment on ARP in 2013. We never really get to learn the exact amounts when we ask, I have 2 years to go yet, PM me if you think it is relevant.:confused:

    Keep the good work up. nice to think we have someone there looking out for us.:smile:

    Jack P.:D
     
  3. Broadside

    Broadside DI Forum Patron

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    I am going in to London today to do some serious ear-bashing with my contacts in Whitehall and Westminster. I find that a couple of beers and a bit of reminiscing with them at sundown tends to loosen even the most guarded tongue. Once I've picked the brains of the "Whitehall Warriors" I will be better placed to make an assessment.

    Jack P. I will probably be able to come up with a reasonably accurate figure once I get back from London. I will post any information that I get on to the Forum rather than pm it, so that it can be read by all, as the age related pension is an across-the-board payment and is not tailored as a specific amount for different individuals.

    Wish me luck as I go off to do battle with the mandarins and scrotes who walk the corridors of power !!!!!!!
     
  4. bobbyjo13

    bobbyjo13 DI Junior Member

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    pension forcast

    Hi. Here is my pension forcast what they gave me this year using the present calculations.
    Basic State Pension ........ £97.65

    Additional State Pension ..... £44.25 Graduated Retirement Benefit .... £5.07 Total ..... £146.97 I have 3 years yet to wait so im sure it will go up a little. hope this gives you some idea of what you will get. I cant wait. See you all there soon. Bob.
     
  5. bobbyjo13

    bobbyjo13 DI Junior Member

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    stop press

    Well the news has just been on and it says the government is thinking of changing the pension payments. They say that everyone may get £140 per week regardless who you are and how much you have paid in. They say to make it easier for everyone and people then will know how much they will get as a basic pension. Watch this space for more info.
     
  6. john boy

    john boy DI Forum Luminary Highly Rated Poster

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    Hi Guys,great info thanks, also heard about possible across the board set pension.
    If I had the chance to ask, I would question the right to return to UK if required for Medical purposes, as of the moment if one leaves the country for more than 3 months you lose your rights, even after paying taxes for 50 years!
    thanks again for the info....JB
     
  7. Broadside

    Broadside DI Forum Patron

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    This is as much information as I could squeeze out of people in London. I intended to post this yesterday but couldn't because :-
    (a) my computer threw a hissy fit, and
    (b) I had a severe hangover !!!!

    The figure quoted by Bobbyjo13 above is correct, but the additional payments quoted are only relevent to his particular circumstances.

    The current basic state pension is :- £97-65 per week for a lone pensioner
    £156-15 per week for a couple
    Various means tests and a confusing array of "pension credits" can increase this to:-
    £132-60 per week for a lone pensioner
    £202-40 per week for a couple
    A couple is defined as where both are of pensionable age, and not where one of the couple is of pensionable age and the other not. The rules, red tape, beurocracy and form filling is such a minefield that many pensioners are not aware of what they are actually entitled to. Even those who work in the world of tax and pensions find the rules difficult to interpret at times, so what chance have the elderly and sometimes confused got ??

    Future Change.

    As I said before, the current system of means test, credits, and individual assessment has, for decades, penalised those who made some form of additional provision for their autumn years. This was further compounded by the obnoxious Gordon Brown, and the self-serving Tony Blair, who raided pension funds in order to fund their pet projects. It is now intended to sweep away the current mass of complex points and credits and replace it with a flat rate basic state pension for all. This would be a much fairer system and everyone would know where they stand as everyone would get the same rate of pension. There is a steering committee looking in to all of this and it is intended to present a Green Paper to parliament within the year. The figure being bandied around Westminster if £140 per week for all, based on todays values. This would be in addition to any other pensions that each individual has acquired during their working life. This information has been deliberately "leaked" to the Press, but while it is still in the planning stage and therefore no legislation to support it at present, it is open to a lot of speculation. BUT, and there is always a but, it is not intended to implement this system until 2015 !!! My eternal cynicism kicks in here, as 2015 is also the date of the next general election, so I can see this as a carrot being dangled in order to try and buy votes. We will see in due course.

    Imminent Change.

    With effect from April 2011, the criteria for assessing the annual increase to the basic state pension will change. From that date, it will be determined by whichever is the greatest of the following :-
    (a) the growth in average earnings, or
    (b) the growth in the cost of living index, or
    (c) 2.5%
    therefore the minimum rise will be at least 2.5% and could be more depending on the performance of the other two indices in the equation. My own opinion is that this too is a much fairer system. Any of you on a public service pension or military pension will recall that last April there was no increase in the pension, despite the fact that fuel, food and transport cost had rocketed at record levels, and electricity cost had increased by more than 40% in the past 3 years. In future, these increases will be taken in to consideration when adjusting the basic pension rate.

    For Jack P.
    I am assuming that you receive an Armed Forces pension for your service in the RAF. If this is the case, then you will be entitled to the basic state pension, in addition to your service pension, provided that you have made at least 30 years of National Insurance contributions.

    I have worked out the following prediction for you, based on an increase of 2.5% per annum and round down to the nearest whole penny.

    April 2010 - April 2011 £97-65 per week
    April 2011 - April 2012 £100-09 per week
    April 2012 - April 2013 £102-59 per week
    April 2013 - April 2014 £105-15 per week

    Bear in mind also that the point at which you start to pay tax at the basic rate of 20% will rise from £6475 to £9490 at the current rate, therefore you will be better off per annum by an additional £600 (42,000 peso) and thats a whole lot of SMBs. !!!!!! Plus you will stop making any further N.I. contributions.

    So there you have it as I see it at the moment. I hope that this has helped to make a cloudy situation a little clearer, and I will pass on any updates of significant importance as and when I get them from a reliable source.

    Cheers

    Roger
     
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    Jack Peterson

    Jack Peterson DI Forum Luminary Highly Rated Poster SC Connoisseur Veteran Air Force

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    Yeah!

    :wink: Well Done that man, Broardside, can we count on you to keep us Updated on thr pension issue?:smile:

    Jack,( A Happy) P.:wink:
     
  9. Broadside

    Broadside DI Forum Patron

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    Yes, I will certainly pass on anything new that comes to light, for it will affect us all in time.
     
  10. jimeve

    jimeve DI Forum Luminary Highly Rated Poster Showcase Reviewer Veteran Army

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    they have raised pensions to a ripe old age of 66, we live longer now, and that takes affect at 2020. That includes females by they way.
     
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