01: State pension reform

In 2002, the Government set up the Pensions Commission, chaired by Lord Turner, to review the UK pensions system. The Commission issued two reports and a final statement in April 2006. In response to the Commission’s ideas, the Department for Work and Pension (DWP) produced the Pensions Act 2007 and Pensions Act 2008. So far in 2011, a further Pensions Bill has been presented to parliament and teh DWP has published a Green Paper on state pension reform, which is likely to lead eventually to a simplified state pension system. What follows is a brief summary of the main changes the earlier Acts make to state pension provision and subsequent amendments proposed in the latest Pensions Bill and the Green Paper.Last Updated