01: State pension reform

In 2002, the previous 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 Pensions (DWP) produced the Pensions Act 2007 and Pensions Act 2008. In 2011, a further Pensions Act was passed by the new government and the DWP published a Green Paper on state pension reform, setting out options for a simplified state pension system. In the 2012 Budget the Chancellor confirmed that this simplification process would go ahead early in the next Parliament. What follows is a brief summary of the main changes the earlier Acts make to state pension provision and subsequent reforms proposed in the Green Paper.Last Updated