The promised re-indexation of the basic State Pension to reconnect it to earnings should mean a substantial increase in government pensions after 2012.
 The basic State Pension was linked to earnings once before, in the 1970s, but was switched to link to prices through the Retail Price Index in 1980. As earnings generally increase faster than inflation, the long-term effect of this has been to reduce the State Pension to its current level of £95.25 per week, or £4,953 per year.
Experts indicate that restoring the link to earnings could add up to £11 per week to the value of the pension.
 At the same time, a reduction in the required number of years of National Insurance Contributions will make the basic State Pension available to a greater portion of the workforce.
 Today, men need 44 and women 39 years of contributions, to qualify for the basic State Pension. This will fall to 30 years, for both genders, from April 2010.
 Carers and Mothers
 Government also plans to address the disadvantages that faced carers and full-time mums, who missed out on valuable years of National Insurance contributions due to being absent from the workforce.
 From April 2010, full-time carers and mothers will get full credit for the years spent, so that they will no longer be disadvantaged with regard to the basic State Pension.
 Access to these ‘National Insurance contribution credits’ will be available to parents with a dependent child under 12, approved foster carers, and those caring at least 20 hours per week for severely disabled people.
