Most people who are getting close to retirement age don’t know what they can expect from their state pension. That’s the finding of a new report by the firm Retirement Advantage. Their survey of people over 50 showed that 60% have not asked for a state pension forecast, and 20% do not even know what one is. This comes hot on the heels of the Conservative Party’s manifesto launch last week, which included a pledge to scrap the “Triple Lock” on the state pension value.
FT Adviser reports –
“Andrew Tully, pensions technical director at Retirement Advantage, said: “These figures highlight a worrying trend among those approaching retirement… “Not only are many unaware of the state pension forecast system, but many who are aware of it have not asked for a forecast of the state pension to which they will be entitled… We have seen many changes introduced to the state pension system over the last 10 years, which means people need to check their forecast to see how much they will receive.” … Under the new state pension system, the amount of state pension that a person receives depends on how many qualifying years they have during which they made national insurance contributions… However people require a minimum of 10 qualifying years to receive anything at all.”