State Pensions

State Pension and Opting Out

The State Pension is an entitlement for most people in the UK, although the amount you receive will depend on the amount of NI contributions you have paid over the years.
The pension allowance for a single person who has paid in sufficient contributions over the years is £95.25 per week for the year 2009/2010.
For a married couple, this allowance will be around £152.30 per week, if you are both entitled to a full pension in your own right.

The Pensions Act 1995 introduced a state pension age of 65 for men and women from 2020. This will be introduced over a ten year period from 2010, for women born after 6 April 1955.

State 2nd Pension

The Child Support Pensions and Social Security Act 2000 was introduced in April 2002.  This Act replaced the State Earnings Related Pension Scheme (SERPS). 

SERPS is not available to self-employed people, it is totally independent of the basic state pension and is based on your earnings during your working life.

This pension is similar to SERPS but has different accrual rates, the build up will differ for each tax year depending on your earnings.