Introduction (617 words)

The closure of long-established occupational pension schemes by major companies, together with stock market slumps, has put pensions at the heart of political debate ...

1. The UK pensions system (769 words)

There are three elements to the UK pensions system - state pensions, occupational pensions and private personal or stakeholder pensions. ...

2. Occupational pensions (5957 words)

Final salary pension schemes promise to pay their members a pension at retirement based on their earnings at or near retirement. ...

3. Stakeholder pensions (958 words)

The government's aim in introducing stakeholder pensions last year was to provide another option for the millions of workers who do not have access ...

4. State pensions (719 words)

State pension provision consists mainly of the basic state pension and the State Second Pension, which replaced the State Earnings-Related Pension (SERPS) in April ...

5. The future for pensions (1404 words)

Trade unions are currently fighting to defend final salary occupational pension schemes at the same time as wanting improvements for the millions of workers ...

6. Information, advice and regulation (961 words)

If you have any general queries about your pension rights, check with your union first. Several unions have national pensions officers and many general ...

Meaning of terms (741 words)

Accrual rate - the rate at which pension entitlement builds up in a salary-related pension scheme. The most common rate in final salary schemes ...