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Baroness Altmann, Former Minister for Pensions (May 2015 to July 2016)

Understanding the State Pension part five: the new State Pension: a much simpler future

People who start work after 6 April 2016 will have the benefit of a much simpler State Pension system. Many of the complexities that exist with the current system will, over time, be consigned to history.

Understanding the State Pension part four a: How contracting-out can affect your total State Pension

Blog 4 showed how the past changes to the Additional State Pension mean that you could have built up several different parts of State Pension. Your Additional State Pension will depend on a large number of factors.

Understanding the State Pension part four: how the State Pension has changed over time

So far, I’ve just explained how your State Pension builds up at the moment, based on NI you are paying or credited with this year. But your eventual State Pension will depend on your past NI record, as well as what you are building right now.

Understanding the State Pension part three: am I ‘contracted out’ and what does it mean?

Being “contracted-out” generally means that you are paying lower National Insurance rates than the standard full rate for employees. You will be paying lower National Insurance as you are opted out of State Second Pension (S2P).

Understanding the State Pension part two: how the current State Pension system works

I want to try to help you understand how the State Pension works – both under today’s rules and in the future.

I will start by explaining the current State Pension.

Understanding the State Pension part one: how National Insurance builds up State Pension

This blog will just focus on how NI payments help you build up your State Pension. I hope it will give you a better idea of how the system works.