Your state pension
In addition to your Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) benefits, you may also qualify for a state pension paid by the Government from your state pension age.
You basic state pension is based on the national insurance contributions you pay during your working life.
The additional state pension, also known as the State Earnings Related Pension Scheme (SERPS) or State Second Pension (S2P), is the part of your state pension that depends on your earnings since April 1978. If you are a member of the LGPS you are contracted out of the additional state pension and pay lower national insurance contributions as a result.
State pension age is 65 for men and 60 for women. From the year 2020, the Government will have equalised the state pension age for men and women at age 65. The table below gives full details of how the increase in state pension age for women will be phased in from the year 2010.
| Date of Birth | State pension age |
|---|---|
| Before 6th April 1950 | 60 |
| 6 April 1950 - 5 April 1951 | Between 60 & 61 |
| 6 April 1951 - 5 April 1952 | Between 61 & 62 |
| 6 April 1952 - 5 April 1953 | Between 62 & 63 |
| 6 April 1953 - 5 April 1954 | Between 63 & 64 |
| 6 April 1954 - 5 April 1955 | Between 64 & 65 |
| After 5 April 1955 | 65 |
The State Pension age for both men and women is also to increase from 65 to 68 between 2024 and 2046, with each change phased in over two consecutive years in each decade. The first increase, from 65 to 66, will be phased in between April 2024 and April 2026; the second, from 66 to 67, will be phased in between April 2034 and April 2036; and the third, from 67 to 68, between April 2044 and April 2046
More information on your state pension is available from The Pensions Service at the following web address: www.thepensionservice.gov.uk.