Full state pension for carers and parents who stay at home

Mothers and carers who choose to stay at home instead of going out to work will receive a full state pension for the first time under an overhaul of the UK's retirement system.

Under the reforms, mothers and carers who retire from 2015 will be treated as if they had worked throughout their lives, giving them a flat-rate payment worth at least £140 a week and leaving them £2,000 better off a year, on average, the work and pensions secretary, Iain Duncan Smith, announced.

Currently, people who do not work for a full 30 years receive a reduced pension entitlement for each year out of employment.

Duncan Smith told the Telegraph that the state second pension will be scrapped, a measure that will hit wealthier workers. He defended the changes, saying they would leave most workers better off and provide a far simpler system than the "chaotic" one currently in place.

Full Article on Guardian