This article is part of our Guide to Maximising Your Pension, helping investors build up the maximum possible pension pot – and turn it into the maximum possible retirement income.
On Wednesday, the new tax year will herald the start of the new flat-rate State Pension of £155.65 a week. It was billed as a cure-all for the complicated top-up system; a fair, generous replacement for the existing two-tier State Pension. But the Work and Pensions Select Committee has found that poor communication has meant many pensioners do not know if they will win or lose under New State Pension.
The simplified nature of the single-tier flat-rate pension, and its fanfare announcement, has lead hundreds of pensioners to wrongly believe they, alongside all other pensioners would automatically receive the new payment, according to the Committee. In fact, only 13% of those people reaching state pension age in the next 12 months will receive the full flat rate of £155.65 a week.
Paul Green, director of communications for retirement experts Saga said the lack of communication had serious implications.
" Most people make significant financial plans about their future based on what they believe they will get from their state pension and if inaccurate or outdated could leave them with little to no time to make up for this government information error,” he said.
Pensioners with fewer than 10 qualifying years of National Insurance Contributions (NICs) will see their weekly State Pension income fall in comparison with the existing system from Wednesday, as will those who relied on spousal contributions.
Hymans Robertson highlighted another complicating factor – that due to changes in State Pension age only a quarter of the women who would normally be retiring will receive the new State pension over the next year.
“Only 90,000 women are set to retire next year as opposed to 320,000 men,” said Chris Noon, partner at Hymans Robertson. “The Government's role in retirement should be to provide certainty through the flat rate State pension and act as an insurer of last resort for long-term care needs. To ensure those roles can be performed in a sustainable way, it's vital that individuals are clear about how much money they will have in retirement, how far off track they might be and what they need to do to get back on track.”
Too Many Reliant on the State Pension
Aged 50 and older? More than half of this age group is over-reliant on the State Pension according to new data from Barclays bank, 55% admitting they will need the new State Pension to provide an income in retirement. The new flat-rate pays an equivalent of an £8,000 annual income from Wednesday.
The data also reveals how ill-prepared many workers are for pension provision, with 37% admitting they had not yet considered how they would fund retirement.
Catherine Penney of Barclays Stockbrokers, said while its amount and qualifying age may change in the future, it is clear that for people wanting the flexibility to retire when it suits them or gradually reducing their working week to ease themselves into retirement, planning for their retirement from as early age as possible will be paramount.