Will 明言する／公表する 年金 become means 実験（する）d if you own 所有物／資産／財産 or have 私的な 年金s? Steve Webb replies

By Steve Webb for This Is Money

Updated:

State pension: Could it be means tested and would this affect existing pensioners?

明言する／公表する 年金: Could it be means 実験（する）d and would this 影響する／感情 存在するing pensioners?

I've read plenty in the マスコミ lately regarding means 実験（する）ing of 明言する／公表する 年金 for people who have 私的な 年金s and/or own their 所有物／資産／財産.

I 本人自身で feel 関心d about this and I am sure I am not the only one.

Questions that come to mind (I am sure there are more) are:

1. Is this likely to be introduced?

2. At what level would this likely to be 誘発する／引き起こすd, for example would it be the level of 私的な 年金 and or the value of the home someone owns?

3. Would the 政府 have to give 10 years' notice for the introduction of this as they do with 増加するs in qualifying age?

4. Would it 影響する／感情 those alread y （人命などを）奪う，主張するing the 明言する／公表する 年金?

Your comments would be welcome and hopefully bring some peace of mind to those already （人命などを）奪う，主張するing and those 予定 to （人命などを）奪う，主張する in the coming years.

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Steve Webb replies: When an 'Old Age 年金' was first introduced in the UK in 1909 it was paid only to those with 年次の means (income) below a 始める，決める level.

But since 1948 the 国家の 保険 退職 年金 has been paid 大部分は 関わりなく people's income or wealth.?

The main exception to this was a period when those still in work could see their 年金 減ずるd based on 収入s 限界s, but these 支配するs were 廃止するd in 1989.

Today, the 明言する／公表する 年金 is payable even to those on the highest incomes, but it is ? o f course ? 支配する to 所得税, meaning that up to 45 per cent of the 年金 is already clawed 支援する from the wealthiest.

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In my 見解（をとる） it would be a 抱擁する backward step to introduce any other element of means-実験（する）ing into the 明言する／公表する 年金 system. I also think that it is 高度に ありそうもない that this could happen in the foreseeable 未来, for 推論する／理由s I will explain.

The stories that you may have read about 財政上の 圧力s on the 明言する／公表する 年金 system 焦点（を合わせる） on two things.

First of all, the growing number of pensioners, not least because the 'baby にわか景気' 世代 of the late 1950s and 早期に 1960s is now reaching 年金 age.

Second, the 親族 拒絶する／低下する in the number of 労働者s to 基金 those 年金s, in part 予定 to a 落ちるing birth 率.

How does the 政府 keep 明言する／公表する 年金 costs 負かす／撃墜する??

There are several things which the gove rnment could do ? and has done ? to 減ずる this 圧力, all of which have been chosen in preference to going 負かす／撃墜する the means-実験（する）ing 大勝する.

The first is to 増加する the 明言する／公表する 年金 age. Once male and 女性（の） 明言する／公表する 年金 ages had been equalised at 65 in 2018, the 年金 age was raised to 66 in 2020, and will rise again すぐに from 66 to 67 between April 2026 and April 2028.

Beyond this, the タイミング of 未来 changes to 明言する／公表する 年金 ages is いっそう少なく （疑いを）晴らす. 年金 age is 現在／一般に 予定 to rise from 67 to 68 between 2044 and 2046. But two separate 政府 reviews in 最近の years have 提案するd that this age be brought 今後, typically to the late 2030s.

Whatever 決定／判定勝ち（する） is 結局 taken on moving to age 68, it does seem 高度に likely that 年金 ages will continue to rise, and ages of 69 and even 70 have been floated in 政府 reviews.

Another 選択 to 含む／封じ込める costs would be to 増加する the 明言する／公表する 年金 more slowly. For example, between 1979 and 2010, the 年次の 増加する in the 明言する／公表する 年金 was pegged 純粋に to price インフレーション, resulting in the 悪名高い 75p 増加する in 2000.?

Since 2010 we have seen a 比較して generous uprating 過程 under the '３倍になる lock' 支配するs. But if the 政府 手配中の，お尋ね者 to 減ずる the 未来 cost of the 明言する／公表する 年金 it could make 年次の uprating いっそう少なく generous.

A third 代案／選択肢 to means-実験（する）ing would be to make other changes to the 支配するs to make the 明言する／公表する 年金 いっそう少なく expensive to 供給する.?

For example, the new 明言する／公表する 年金 is (loosely) based around a 35 year 必要物／必要条件 for a 十分な 年金, 反して between 2010 and 2016 you could get a 十分な basic 年金 for just 30 years of 出資／貢献s.?

If the 政府 手配中の，お尋ね者 to save money, it could tweak 支配するs like this, perhaps raising the 的 for a 十分な 年金 from 35 to 40 years for example.

I have gone into all these examples in some 詳細（に述べる） to show that 政府s can (and often do) save money on 明言する／公表する 年金s without 訴える手段／行楽地ing to means-実験（する）ing, which most 政治家，政治屋s would regard as a '核の 選択'.

Will the 政府 start means-実験（する）ing the 明言する／公表する 年金??

There are several 推論する／理由s why I think introducing means-実験（する）ing is 高度に ありそうもない.

Pensioners are a large and growing 割合 of the 全住民. They are also much more likely than younger people to 投票（する）.

Even if means-実験（する）ing only started with the very wealthiest of today's pensioners, 投票者s would no 疑問 嫌疑者，容疑者／疑う that the 原則 would be 延長するd to them. It is hard to see any 政党 存在 willing to take such a 危険.

Assuming that it would be political 自殺 to introduce means-実験（する）ing for today's pensioners, how about doing it for those yet to retire?

In this 事例／患者 you get what the 政治家，政治屋 most dreads ? all of the political flak and 非，不，無 of the money.

As your question 示唆するs, if such a change were to be made for 未来 pensioners, people would need to be given decent notice so that they could 計画（する） accordingly.?

If, as you 示唆する, ten years' notice was given, then today's 政治家，政治屋s would be 発表するing a 深く，強烈に 人気がない change which didn't give them any extra money to spend in the next two 議会s. It is hard to see how this 作品 政治上.

From the 視野 of 年金 政策, means-実験（する）ing older people sits very 不正に with the 現在の 政策 of automaticall y 入会させるing millions of people into a voluntary workplace 年金.?

If people in work knew they would get いっそう少なく 明言する／公表する 年金 if they saved in a 私的な 年金, they might 井戸／弁護士席 be tempted to 選ぶ out of their workplace 年金. This would 最終的に leave people more 扶養家族 on the 明言する／公表する in 退職, not いっそう少なく.

If you look around the world it is 比較して rare for 明言する／公表する 年金 systems to be means-実験（する）d, though Australia is a 著名な exception.?

But in Australia workplace 年金 saving is compulsory, which means people have no choice but to build up a 私的な 年金 even if this 減ずるs their 明言する／公表する 年金.

In short, I think for political 推論する／理由s there is no chance of means-実験（する）ing today's 明言する／公表する 年金s, and very little political upside in 発表するing 計画（する）s to do so in １０年間s to come.?

There are other levers which 政府s can pull to 支配（する）／統制する 明言する／公表する 年金 spending and I 堅固に 嫌疑者，容疑者／疑う that those are the levers they will continue to pull.

Ask Steve Webb a 年金 question

Former 年金s 大臣 Steve Webb is This Is Money's agony uncle.

He is ready to answer your questions, whether you are still saving, in the 過程 of stopping work, or juggling your 財政／金融s in 退職.

Steve left the Department of Work and 年金s after the May 2015 選挙. He is now a partner at actuary and 協議するing 会社／堅い 小道／航路 Clark & Peacock.

If you would like to ask Steve a question about 年金s, please email him at pensionquestions@thisismoney.co.uk.

Steve will do his best to reply to your message in a 来たるべき column, but he won't be able to answer everyone or correspond 個人として with readers.?Nothing in his replies 構成するs 規制するd 財政上の advice. Published questions are いつかs edited for brevity or other 推論する／理由s.

Please 含む a daytime 接触する number with your message - this will be kept confidential and not used for marketing 目的s.

If Steve is unable to answer your question, you can also 接触する MoneyHelper, a 政府-支援するd organisation which gives 解放する／自由な 援助 on 年金s to the public. It can be 設立する here?and its number is 0800 011 3797.

Steve receives many questions about 明言する／公表する 年金 予測（する）s and COPE ? the 契約d Out 年金 同等（の）. If you are 令状ing to Steve on this topic, he 答える／応じるs to a typical reader question about COPE and the 明言する／公表する 年金 here.

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