Skip to main content
The Actuary: The magazine of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries - return to the homepage Logo of The Actuary website
  • Search
  • Visit The Actuary Magazine on Facebook
  • Visit The Actuary Magazine on LinkedIn
  • Visit @TheActuaryMag on Twitter
Visit the website of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries Logo of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries

Main navigation

  • News
  • Features
    • General Features
    • Interviews
    • Students
    • Opinion
  • Topics
  • Knowledge
    • Business Skills
    • Careers
    • Events
    • Predictions by The Actuary
    • Whitepapers
    • Moody's - Climate Risk Insurers series
    • Webinars
    • Podcasts
  • Jobs
  • IFoA
    • CEO Comment
    • IFoA News
    • People & Social News
    • President Comment
  • Archive
Quick links:
  • Home
  • The Actuary Issues
  • July 2014
07

Pensioners 'better off' in independent Scotland, SNP claims

Open-access content Friday 11th July 2014 — updated 5.13pm, Wednesday 29th April 2020

A vote in favour of Scottish independence will see pensioners £260 a year better off, Scotland’s deputy first minister claimed today.

Nicola Sturgeon said that, while Westminster was yet to 'come clean' on how much retirees on the new single tier pension would receive, it was estimated that the payment would be around £155 a week.

However, Sturgeon said she was 'making it clear' that new pensioners receiving the single tier pension in an independent Scotland, could expect to receive £160 per week - £5 more than if Scotland remained within the UK.

With less than two months to go before the September 18 referendum, the Scottish National Party has already promised that it would introduce a 'triple lock', which ensures an annual rise in the value of the state pension, by whichever of annual earnings growth, inflation or 2.5% is highest.

Sturgeon also reiterated the Scottish Government's pledge to review Westminster plans to increase the state pension age.

'Scotland has paid more tax per head than the rest of the UK for each and every one of the last 30 years - and spending on pensions is more affordable for Scotland,' she said.

'Figures show that 38% of Scottish tax revenues are spent on social protection, including pensions, compared to 42% for the UK as a whole.

'The Westminster parties cannot get away with hiding the truth from Scotland's older people. They must come clean about how much our new pensioners stand to lose as part of the UK.'

But speaking on behalf of pro-union Better Together campaign, Jackie Baillie, Labour's Holyrood spokeswoman for welfare, said: 'The Nationalists have no credibility on pensions given their plans rely on Scots dying earlier than people in the rest of the UK. The SNP's focus should be on improving people's wellbeing and life expectancy here in Scotland, rather than always blaming someone else.'

 

This article appeared in our July 2014 issue of The Actuary .
Click here to view this issue

You may also be interested in...

TPR issues public service pension board guides

The Pensions Regulator has published two ‘quick guides’ to help public service pension schemes comply with new legal governance standards.
Tuesday 8th July 2014
Open-access content

Retirees 'regret' annuity choice, survey reveals

More than two-thirds of retired people who accepted the annuities offered to them by their pension providers now regret it and would do things differently, a Just Retirement survey has revealed.
Tuesday 15th July 2014
Open-access content

Pension savers risk-averse, NEST survey finds

Pension savers do not want to take any kind of risk with their money and would rather not pay extra to guarantee higher returns, new research from National Employment Savings Trust suggests.
Monday 7th July 2014
Open-access content

PwC: companies overpaying into pension schemes

Companies are failing to take advantage of improving market conditions and overpaying some £9bn a year into their pension schemes, PricewaterhouseCoopers claimed today.
Monday 7th July 2014
Open-access content

Auto-enrolment could see £495bn saved in DC assets, PPI finds

Up to 15 million people will be actively saving in private sector workplace schemes by 2030, with up to £495bn in defined contribution assets, the Pensions Policy Institute has found.
Thursday 17th July 2014
Open-access content

One in ten pensioners 'are millionaires', Prudential finds

Over a million of pensioner households in the UK now have a total wealth of more than £1m, according to analysis by Prudential.
Friday 18th July 2014
Open-access content
Filed in
07
Topics
Pensions
Share
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Linked in
  • Mail
  • Print

Latest Jobs

Senior Reserving Analyst

London (City of)
Negotiable
Reference
149485

Senior GI Modeler - Capital and Planning

London (Central)
£ excellent
Reference
149436

Risk Oversight Manager

Flexible / hybrid with a minimum of 2 days per week office-based
£ excellent
Reference
149435
See all jobs »
 
 

Today's top reads

 
 

Sign up to our newsletter

News, jobs and updates

Sign up

Subscribe to The Actuary

Receive the print edition straight to your door

Subscribe
Spread-iPad-slantB-june.png

Topics

  • Data Science
  • Investment
  • Risk & ERM
  • Pensions
  • Environment
  • Soft skills
  • General Insurance
  • Regulation Standards
  • Health care
  • Technology
  • Reinsurance
  • Global
  • Life insurance
​
FOLLOW US
The Actuary on LinkedIn
@TheActuaryMag on Twitter
Facebook: The Actuary Magazine
CONTACT US
The Actuary
Tel: (+44) 020 7880 6200
​

IFoA

About IFoA
Become an actuary
IFoA Events
About membership

Information

Privacy Policy
Terms & Conditions
Cookie Policy
Think Green

Get in touch

Contact us
Advertise with us
Subscribe to The Actuary Magazine
Contribute

The Actuary Jobs

Actuarial job search
Pensions jobs
General insurance jobs
Solvency II jobs

© 2023 The Actuary. The Actuary is published on behalf of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries by Redactive Publishing Limited. All rights reserved. Reproduction of any part is not allowed without written permission.

Redactive Media Group Ltd, 71-75 Shelton Street, London WC2H 9JQ