The New State Pension is being Introduced for people reaching pensionable age on or after 6 April 2016. The pension is set at maximum of £155.65(but only 13% will receive this, the rest getting less). Generally it is often more generous than the current provision.
To check on your/ you client's contribution record, complete a BR19 form or ring 0345 3000 168.
The government has updated its website to give the basics-
Overview
Eligibility
How to claim
How it's calculated
You've been in a workplace, personal or stakeholder pension
Your National Insurance record and your State Pension
Inheriting or increasing State Pension from a spouse or civil partner Living and working overseas
A Work and Pension Committee report has been critical of the government's publicity-
"The New State Pension will ultimately be a welcome simplification of an over complicated system. The problem is that failures of communication mean that too few people understand it. The Government seems to have managed to muddle its communications to the point where neither the winners nor losers yet know who they are.
There is no way that communicating changes which affect different groups very differently, over different timelines, should ever have been left to general awareness campaigns or happen by chance. The oversimplified message about the flat-rate amount has left many people unprepared and confused.
We very much welcome the commitment in the Budget to a one stop "pensions dashboard", which we and others have been calling for. It is only one part of the answer though. Government must focus on identifying the individuals affected, assessing their potential losses, and communicating with them directly, clearly, and regularly. But nobody should underestimate the challenges of achieving this objective."
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