MP WELCOMES PENSIONS BOOST FOR STOCKPORT’S SELF EMPLOYED

Five thousand self employed people in Stockport are to get a big upgrade to their state pensions, according to Andrew Stunell, MP.

Under changes coming in the Pensions Bill, all the National Insurance payments made by the town’s 5,000 self-employed people will go towards their pension in the same way as for employed people. The Bill has made a start in Parliament and is expected to come into force in 2016.

Commenting, Andrew Stunell MP said:

“For far too long, hard-working self employed people have been getting a raw deal, despite the enormous contribution they make to our economy. Now, the 5,000 or so self employed people in our area who chose to get on with running their own business will be properly rewarded for their contributions and will not lose out later in life.”

The move to a ‘citizens pension’ will also help long-term carers who haven’t been able to go out to work.

“This is set to be the biggest step forward in pensions for many years. It comes after the biggest cash increases ever in the state pension”.

Introduced by Pensions Minister Steve Webb, the new single tier pension will treat self employed and emplyed peopleequally. In the past, self employed people missed out on a higher state pension because they could not qualify for the second state pension, despite having paid National Insurance contributions all their lives.

The reforms will also treat men and women equally for the first time, with 750,000 women getting an average £9 a week extra within the first ten years of its introduction. It will be set above the basic level of the means test and will value unpaid caring work just as much as a high-flying city jobs.