Other things that could affect your pension

Change to the State Pension age for women

From 6 April 2020, the State Pension age for both men and women will be 65. The Government will introduce the change gradually from age 60 to 65 for women over a 10-year period from 2010 to 2020.

When will I get my State Pension?

• If you are a woman born on or before 5 April 1950, you can claim your State Pension at 60.
• If you are a woman born between 6 April 1950 and 5 April 1955, your State Pension age will be between 60 and 65, depending on your date of birth.
• If you are a woman born on or after 6 April 1955, you can claim your State Pension at 65.
• This change does not affect men.

For more details about how this change might affect you, see Pensions for women – Your guide (PM6).

What if I get divorced?

If you get divorced or have your marriage annulled, the courts have to take into account the value of all your assets, including the value of your pension entitlement. This is so that the courts can decide how all your assets should be divided.

Since 1 December 2000, couples whose marriages end in divorce or annulment can share the value of their pensions. The idea is to provide greater flexibility and choice for the divorcing couple and the courts. Pension sharing is not compulsory – it is simply an option available for divorcing couples who have entitlement to second pensions, such as:

• an occupational pension;
• a stakeholder pension;
• a personal pension; and
• the additional State Pension.

Pension sharing does not apply to:

• the basic State Pension, as divorced people can already replace their own contributions record with their husband or wife’s record for the period the marriage lasted;
• couples who started divorce or annulment proceedings before 1 December 2000 ; or
• couples who separate but do not divorce.

Pension sharing only applies to divorce proceedings which started on or after 1 December 2000 .

If you want to know more about how divorce affects your pension, you may want to get advice from a lawyer or an independent financial adviser (or both). If you live in England or Wales, you might also find the guide I want to apply for a Financial Order (D190) helpful. In Northern Ireland, a court can make a pension sharing order in connection with proceedings for a divorce or annulment. In Scotland, a financial order can be made as part of the divorce proceedings. Another guide you may find useful is Pensions for women – Your guide (PM6).

What if I am widowed

For married men and women under State Pension age, bereavement benefits are available. Bereavement Payments can also be paid to you if you are over State Pension age and your husband or wife was not entitled to a State Pension based on their own contributions record when they died. You should think about these bereavement benefits as part of your overall financial plans. The system of bereavement benefits does not affect women already getting widows’ benefits under the previous scheme.

For more information, please see the leaflet Widowed? (GL14).

Living abroad

If you move abroad to work before you reach State Pension age, you may not build up entitlement to a State Pension (the basic State Pension and any additional State Pension) for those years. However, this depends on your particular circumstances (for example, whether it is a UK company you work for or a foreign one).

If you go to live abroad permanently, you will not get a yearly increase in your State Pension (including your additional State Pension) unless you live in a European Economic Area country (including Switzerland), or a country that the UK has an agreement with that allows for these increases (known as ‘upratings’).

To find out which countries these are, and how UK state pensions are paid to people abroad, please see Going Abroad and Social Security Benefits (GL29).

If you plan to live abroad when you retire, the pension you get from an occupational scheme will increase each year in line with the scheme rules and current legislation.

If you have just come to Great Britain, or are returning after a period abroad, the rules for some benefits are different, even if you are a United Kingdom national. To find out more, please see Coming from abroad and social security benefits (GL28).