The pensions can be worth £3,500 a year for the entire length of a person’s retirement, and are costing taxpayers £410 million a year — a rise of more than a third over the past decade.
Mr Webb revealed the figures ahead of this week’s Queen’s Speech, which will include a proposed law that will stop new claims for such pensions.
The situation arises because of rules that allow spouses to claim a “married person’s allowance” based on their husband or wife’s history of National Insurance contributions. The working spouse can receive their state entitlement too.
While claims for a “married person’s pension” are falling in the UK, the number of such pensions paid to people abroad has risen steadily.
There are 220,000 people living outside the UK who receive some sort of state pension based solely on their spouse’s British work history. That is unacceptable, the minister said.
He said: “Most people would think, you pay National Insurance, you get a pension. But folk who have never been here but happen to be married to someone who has are getting pensions.”
Mr Webb also warned that many middle-class workers are not saving enough for retirement and face a steep drop in their living standards after they stop work. In response, he said, employees should sign up to “automatic escalation” deals where they commit money from future pay rises to their pensions.
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