Cridland review

Since the state pension age in its current form was initially set in 1948, the UK has seen significant increases in life expectancy. In 1948, the life expectancy of a 65 year old man was around 12 years, by 2014, this had jumped to 21 years. The amount of time a 65 year old man is expected to live will increase from 22 years in 2016 to 25 in 2046, while a woman’s will increase from 24 to 27 over the same period.

In response, the government has established an independent review to suggest suitable state pension ages from 2028, with the key objectives of supporting affordability, fairness and fuller working lives. Fairness being defined as whether the outcomes are fair within each generation of pensioners now and in the future, and also whether they are fair between each generation.

Last month, the review published an interim report, which sets out its initial findings and invites further evidence on key themes, which will inform its final report. The CIPD is planning to respond to questions set out in the interim report. We have gone through the questions and selected those we think are most relevant to HR and learning and development managers. We invite you to complete this short questionnaire and help inform our response.

You can access the interim report at https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/559943/independent-review-of-the-state-pension-age-interim-report.pdf

Further information about the new state pension
From 2016, the new state pension delivers a flat rate pension (currently worth £155.65) based on earnings-related national insurance contributions. The full state pension requires 35 national insurance qualifying years of contributions or credits. To get anything, requires 10 national insurance qualifying years of contributions or credits. Paying reduced national insurance contributions due to contracting out reduced the amount of state pension. Currently, the state pension is increased each year by the highest of price inflation, growth in earnings or 2.5 per cent, the so called ‘triple lock’. The state pension age will increase from 65 to 66 between 2018 and 2020 and from 66 to 67 between 2026 and 2028.

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* 1. On a scale of 1 (not at all important) to 5 (very important), please rate how important the state pension age is in the decisions of your employees to retire?

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* 2. On a scale of 1 (not at all important) to 5 (very important), please rate how important the size of the state pension is in the decisions of your employees to retire?

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* 3. On a scale of 1 (not at all) to 5 (fully), please rate whether you think most of your employees understand what they need to do to get the full state pensions?

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* 4. Which of the following do you think would have the biggest positive impact for your workplace and workforce? (Please select one option)

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* 5. From the list below, which two factors do you believe will have the greatest impact on the value to employees of the state pension? (Please choose up to two options)

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* 6. Should the government take into account life expectancy in different socio-economic regions of the UK when deciding the state pension age?

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* 7. Should the ‘burnout’ experienced by people in physically demanding jobs be considered as an aspect of access for the state pension?

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