State Pension Reform - Some People Are Never Satisfied!

For many years everyone has complained about the country's over-complicated State pension system. Now the Government has published its White Paper on State pension reform, and people are still complaining!

The White Paper proposes a flat-rate pension of £144 a week for everyone from 2017. Naturally this pension has qualifications – you only receive the full £144 if you have paid National Insurance contributions for 35 years – but no-one ever got something for nothing.

There will be a vast saving in administration costs, as the complicated State second pension, which was related to earnings, disappears. National Insurance contributions will now be the same for everyone. This does mean some workers will now pay 1.4% more than...