Ex-pat Living :: UK State Pension Up for 2012-2013

The 2012-2013 UK Basic State Pension Increasing to £107.45


Merry Christmas to our British and Irish ex-pats living in #Greece and #Cyprus. This is a good news blog today. If you have not caught the announcement, in the UK, the Basic State Pension is going to rise by 5.2% or £5.30 to £107.45 from the start of the new financial year, 2012-2013. This means the first Monday in the year should be April 9, 2012 when the increase applies. The same for other allowances and increases.

As you know this current London government is now using the Consumer Price Index (CPI) as the benchmark for inflation-linked increases. This means that the basic state pension increases each April depending on the increase in earnings, CPI or 2.5%, whichever is greater. September 2011, the inflation rate was 5.2 per cent so that is the increase in pension rate.

As for Income Tax allowances, in the year 2012-2013 year, the under 65 allowance is to be set at £8,105 a year.

The same Income Tax personal allowance for the 65 to 74 year old group is to be £10,500 a year.

And the same Income Tax personal allowance for the 75 and over group will be £10,660 a year.

Some other pension related rates for 2012 - 2013:
- Pension Credit for a single person rate increases to £142.70 a week
- Pension Credit for couples increases to £217.90 a week
- the Category B pension grows to £64.40 a week

It looks like the inflation rate is easing as we enter 2012 for the UK. I am not sure the same can be said for Greece or even Cyprus. As British ex-pats will just have to make the UK basic state pension go a little bit further with the increases. Whatever the New Year brings may it be a peaceful one for you and yours.