What can I expect from the state?When you retire you will almost certainly be eligible for the basic state pension, and you may also be eligible for the "second tier" as well: the State Second Pension (or S2P). Neither of these is a spectacular sum of money.
As you have probably noticed, you pay not only income tax but also National Insurance contributions - the latter is nominally used by the government to pay for things such as the state pension, the NHS, unemployment benefit etc. Whether or not you are eligible for S2P will depend on how much you have paid in National Insurance over the years.
The problem which all governments in Western Europe now face is an aging population. Birth rates are declining and life expectancy is increasing. The net effect is that governments are having to spend more and more each year on paying pensions, and there are fewer and fewer workers per pensioner to raise the money for this through tax.
All this makes it unlikely - to say the least - that the amount of the state pension in the UK is ever going to be increased significantly. It also explains why successive UK governments, both Labour and Conservative, have put a lot of effort into encouraging people to make their own pension arrangements, and not to be dependent on the state pension.
Back to FAQ list |
