Short-changed by the state

Many retirees are in for a rude shock when it comes to qualifying for the new state pension headline rate, says David Prosser.

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People may find they don't get the full pension
(Image credit: Credit: fStop Images GmbH / Alamy Stock Photo)

Well over half the people who have retired since the introduction of the new flat-rate state pension last April do not qualify for the headline rate paid by the scheme. Of 154,000 people who became eligible for state pensions in the five months between April and August last year, just 63,440 qualified for the full pension of £159.55 a week, according to data from the Department for Work & Pensions (DWP), published by the "i" newspaper. This implies that 200,000 people may have missed out in the full first year of the new pension.

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David Prosser
Business Columnist

David Prosser is a regular MoneyWeek columnist, writing on small business and entrepreneurship, as well as pensions and other forms of tax-efficient savings and investments. David has been a financial journalist for almost 30 years, specialising initially in personal finance, and then in broader business coverage. He has worked for national newspaper groups including The Financial Times, The Guardian and Observer, Express Newspapers and, most recently, The Independent, where he served for more than three years as business editor.