State pension reforms receive royal assent

16 May 2014

On 14 May 2014 The Pension Bill 2013-14 received Royal Assent and became The Pensions Act 2014 which includes provisions for both state and private pensions.

The Department for Work & Pensions (DWP) stakeholder team has provided an update:

The first is the creation of a simpler State Pension so that everybody can know both what counts towards their State Pension and how much they can expect to receive. This change will clarify savings incentives and help people plan for their retirement with confidence. It represents a key part of this government’s radical transformation of the pension landscape and supports the introduction of automatic enrolment into workplace pensions.

The new State Pension will affect millions of working age people and it is important that people begin to understand and engage with the new scheme. In particular the DWP anticipate those people who are within five years of reaching their State Pension age will want to seek out more information to help them prepare for their retirement.

The core information about the new State Pension is now available on GOV.UK. More detailed responses to key questions that people may have will be available over the coming weeks. The GOV.UK content will also direct people to the key services that will help them to understand the personal effect of the changes. This includes an online tool to explain the changes being made to deriving or inheriting State Pension from a spouse or civil partner.

As a consequence of the changes to the State Pension the State Pension Statement Service is also changing. Some important changes have been introduced to the State Pension statement services to help people understand how the State Pension reforms may affect them. Further enhancements are planned over the coming months. The specific services available to individuals will be linked to their date of birth.

Information is available on the statement services that are available to different individuals.

In terms of the others provisions in the Bill, for example Automatic Transfers, the new Pensions Regulator objective, Class 3a National Insurance Contributions, etc. the DWP will continue to keep us informed of the key milestones and progress as we move forward.