Social Security An Introduction to Pensions For people reaching State Pension Age on or after 6 th April 2015 This leaflet provides basic information predominantly about the Isle of Man state retirement pension, but also about occupational and personal pensions, UK state pensions and income support. It applies only to people who will reach state pension age on or after 6 th April 2016. It gives general guidance only and should not be treated as a complete and authoritative statement of the law. We have made every effort to ensure that the information in this leaflet is correct at the date shown on the cover. However, changes in the law may make the leaflet become gradually less accurate. More detailed information can be found at www.gov.im/categories/benefits-and-financial-support/social-securitybenefits If you have a question which is not answered in this leaflet or at the above website, please contact Social Security s Pensions Group by phoning 685176 or by email to statepensions@gov.im The Treasury Yn Tashtey RM2 January 2016
Contents State Retirement Pension 3 State Pension Age 3 Isle of Man State Retirement Pension 4 If you are a widow, widower or 6 a surviving civil partner Working whilst getting state pension 6 Claiming your state pension 6 Occupational / Works pension 8 Personal Pensions 8 UK state pensions 9 Income Support 10 Page For more information 11 2
State Retirement Pension You will qualify for a state retirement pension once you have reached state pension age, provided you have paid, or can be treated as having paid, National Insurance (NI) contributions. In some circumstances you may be entitled to a state retirement pension based on your husband s, wife s or civil partner s NI contributions. If you have paid or been credited with National Insurance contributions in both the Isle of Man and the United Kingdom, you may be entitled to a state pension from each country. State Pension Age The date on which you reach state pension age is the earliest date from which you can start claiming your state pension. The state pension age for men is currently 65, but will gradually increase to 66 between December 2018 and October 2020. The state pension age for a woman is gradually increasing and will be 65 by November 2018. For the exact date on which a woman will reach state pension age contact the Pensions Group by phoning 685176 or by email to statepensions@gov.im The state pension age for women will increase to 66 between December 2018 and October 2020 - the same as for men. 3
The state pension age for both men and women will gradually increase from 66 to 67 between October 2020 and October 2028. Isle of Man State Retirement Pension You may be entitled to an Isle of Man state retirement pension if you have paid or been credited with National Insurance contributions in the Isle of Man. If you have paid or been credited with National Insurance contributions in the United Kingdom, you may be entitled to a separate state pension from the UK see page 10. A person s state retirement pension can be made up of a number of different components, which are explained below. Basic Pension: This is based on how many qualifying years of NI contributions you have paid or been credited with during your working life. To get a full basic state pension you need to have at least 30 qualifying years. If you do not have enough qualifying years, you may be able to pay some extra contributions. If you want to know whether you will have enough qualifying years and whether you are eligible to pay extra contributions, please contact the Pensions Forecasting Group by phoning 685432 or by email to pensionforecasting@gov.im Additional Pension: You may be entitled to some additional pension if you have worked as an employee since 6 th April 1978. Under the State Earnings-Related Pension Scheme (SERPS), if you were a member of a contracted-out employer s pension or personal pension scheme any 4
additional pension you have earned up to 5 April 1997 is reduced by a contracted out deduction. From 6 April 1997, you will have earned additional pension only if you have paid standard rate contracted-in NI contributions as an employee. You will not earn any additional pension from this date for any periods in which you have paid contracted-out NI contributions. The State Second Pension Scheme - or S2P for short - replaced SERPS in April 2002 and provides a more generous additional pension for low and moderate earners, certain carers and people with long-term illness or disability. Additional pension entitlement under the S2P scheme applies only from April 2002. Graduated Retirement Benefit: If you paid graduated contributions as an employee between April 1961 and April 1975 you may be entitled to some additional pension in the form of graduated retirement benefit. Pension Supplement: You may be entitled to a pension supplement if, broadly speaking, you have paid NI contributions in the Isle of Man for at least 10 years during your working life. To get the maximum pension supplement you need to have paid NI contributions in the Isle of Man for at least 30 years during your working life. The pension supplement is paid in addition to your basic pension and any additional pension or graduated retirement benefit you are entitled to. Invalidity Addition: You may qualify for this addition if, broadly speaking, you were getting an age addition with long-term Incapacity Benefit within 8 weeks of reaching state pension age and you were under 45 when you first became incapable of work. It is paid in addition to your 5
basic pension, but is reduced by any Additional Pension you are entitled to. If you are a widow, widower or a surviving civil partner If you are a widow, widower or surviving civil partner, you may be able to get a state pension based on your late husband s, wife s or civil partner s NI record. But you will only be able to get half of any additional pension they would have been entitled to. If you are divorced or your civil partnership has ended If you are divorced or your civil partnership has ended and you cannot get a full basic pension based on your own NI record, you may be able to get a basic pension based on your former husband s, wife s or civil partner s NI record. They do not need to be getting a state pension for this to apply. Working whilst getting state pension You do not have to stop work to get a state pension. Any earnings you have will not affect your state pension. Claiming your state pension You will usually be sent a claim form 4 months before you reach State Pension Age. If you have not received one 3 months before you reach State Pension Age, get in touch with the Pensions Section by phoning 685176 or by email to statepensions@gov.im. 6
It is important that you complete the claim form carefully and accurately and provide all the information we ask for. Once you have completed it, take or send it to us. The address and opening hours of our offices are provided on page 12. You must make your claim within 12 months of reaching state pension age. If you don t, you may lose money you would otherwise have been entitled to. You will need to provide the following documents with your claim form - Your birth certificate (or a certified copy of it) If you are a woman and you are married, your marriage certificate (or a certified copy of it) If you are divorced, your divorce certificate (or a certified copy of it) If you are in a civil partnership, your civil partnership certificate If your civil partnership has ended, a copy of the final order. We will acknowledge receipt of your claim and return your certificates to you. We will write to tell you how much state pension you will receive before the first payment is due. Please note: The option to put off or defer claiming an Isle of Man state retirement pension is not available to people who will reach state pension age on or after 6th April 2016. 7
Occupational pensions These are also known as works pensions, company pensions and superannuation. The manager of your scheme will answer any questions you have about the scheme. Occupational pensions do not affect the amount of basic state pension you can get. However, the amount of additional pension you are entitled to will be affected if your scheme has been contracted out of the additional pension scheme (SERPS/S2P) and you paid reduced rate (contracted-out) NI contributions. If you want to know more about this, contact the Pensions Contracting Out Group by phoning 685070 or by email to pensionforecasting@gov.im Personal pensions These are also known as private pensions. The company running your pension scheme will answer any questions you have about it. Personal pensions do not affect the amount of basic state pension you can get. However, the amount of additional pension you are entitled to might be affected depending on the type of personal pension scheme you have. If you are not sure how your personal pension will affect your additional pension entitlement, contact the Pensions Contracting Out Group by phoning 685070 or by email to pensionforecasting@gov.im 8
UK state pensions The UK is introducing a new state pension for people who will reach state pension age on or after 6th April 2016. If you have paid or been credited with National Insurance contributions in the UK, you may be entitled to a UK state pension. If you are entitled to receive a UK state pension this will be uprated each year in line with current arrangements while you are resident in the Isle of Man or the UK. You can find out more about the UK state pension here: https://www.gov.uk/new-state-pension You can make a claim for a state pension in the UK by contacting the UK Department for Work and Pensions: Telephone: 0191 218 7777 E-mail: tvp.internationalqueries@dwp.gsi.gov.uk Write to: International Pension Centre (Claims), The Pension Service 11, MAIL Handling Site A, Wolverhampton WV98 1LW 9
Income Support Income support is a social security benefit which can help certain groups of people including people of state pension age - who do not have enough money to live on. It can help you pay your housing costs and other daily living expenses. Income support is a means-tested benefit. Whether you are entitled or not will depend on how much money you and your partner (if you have one) have coming in and how much savings and other investments you have. By partner we mean - your wife or husband, or a person you live with as if you are married to them: or your civil partner, or a person you live with as if you are civil partners. You may also have to satisfy a residential qualification condition. Income support can be paid in addition to your state pension and any occupational pension or personal pension you have. You cannot get income support if you work for 16 or more hours a week or if your partner works for 24 or more hours a week. 10
For more information Please visit our website at www.gov.im You can email us at socialsecurity@gov.im You can contact our Pensions Group by phoning 685176 or by email to statepensions@gov.im Or you can call at one of our offices- Head office Markwell House, Market Street, Douglas, IM1 2RZ Opening hours: Monday to Thursday 9.00 am - 5.00 pm, Friday 9.00 am - 4.30 pm Ramsey Cummal Mooar, Queen s Promenade, Ramsey, IM8 1EL (Telephone: 812138) Monday - 9.15 am - 1.00 pm and 1.45 pm - 4.30 pm Tuesday - Closed Wednesday - 9.15 am - 1.00 pm and 1.45 pm - 4.30 pm Thursday - Closed Friday - 9.15 am - 1.00 pm and 1.45 pm - 4.00 pm Our offices are closed at weekends and on bank holidays. All phone calls to and from Social Security are recorded for quality purposes, to prevent crime or misuse, to ensure staff act in compliance with required procedures and standards and assist in the provision of training, monitoring and service improvement. 11