Freelancers to receive £40 extra from UK state pension

Freelancers can now receive up to £40 extra per week after changes to the UK state pension system were introduced last week.

The new state pension changes apply to people who reach state pension age on or after 6^th April 2016. This includes women born on or after 6^th April 1953 and men born on or after 6^th April 1951.

Gain

Calculations from pensions firm Aegon UK showed that under the new state pension, self-employed workers are now entitled to up to £155.65 a week, an increase on the previous basic state pension, which was £119.30.

The company said that with many people now spending more than 20 years in retirement, some self-employed workers could gain nearly £40,000.

However, Aegon’s Steven Cameron warned that despite the increase, it is still unlikely to provide them with “a comfortable lifestyle in retirement.”

Unaware

Cameron also added that 70 per cent of those who are self-employed are unaware of the higher level pension.

Cameron’s comments came just as a poll by Moneywise, which received over 960 votes, revealed that 55 per cent of people do not understand how the new state pension system works.

The poll showed that of the 45 per cent of people who are aware of how the system works, 11 per cent said they are not eligible as they fall under the old system, 19 per cent said that they are unaware of how much they will receive, and just 15 per cent are aware of how much they are entitled to.