[2] The State Pension is a 'contribution-based' welfare benefit, and depends on an individual's National Insurance (NI) contribution history.
This was a Liberal Democrat manifesto policy that was then adopted by the 2010–2015 coalition government, meaning that the benefit rises each year by either the annual price inflation, or average earnings growth, or a guaranteed 2.5% minimum, whichever is the greatest.
Coming into effect each April, the uprating is based on the previous September's CPI inflation, along with the annual increase in weekly earnings averaged over May to July.
This was because the government believed there was a statistical anomaly due to Covid having depressed the 2020 earnings figures.
[10] In November 2023, The Trussell Trust calculated that a single adult in the UK in 2023 needs at least £29,500 a year to have an acceptable standard of living, up from £25,000 in 2022.
The Act changed this so that the women's pension age would be made equal with men, but that the transition should only be phased in from 2010 to 2020.
[13] In 2006, a cross party Parliamentary report again recommended equalisation of ages on the basis of equal treatment of both sexes.
[17] In May 2019, a challenge in the High Court failed to reverse decisions to accelerate the equalisation of the pension ages on the ground that not enough notice was given.
The lump sum is the amount of pension payments foregone plus interest at 2% per year over the Bank of England base rate.
In a nutshell; Since 6 April 2016, men and women will need 35 qualifying years to receive the full new state pension.
Men, born after 5 April 1945, are able to claim a Category B pension based on their wives' contribution record.
Married women with young children and careers can claim credits of National Insurance contributions.
In the 2013 budget it was announced that introduction of the single tier pension would be brought forward by one year to 6 April 2016.