Talking points from the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement

The Autumn Statement, delivered by George Osborne on 5 December 2013, included the following:

State pension age:

The ‘state pension age framework’ announced by the government last year provides for the state pension age to be reviewed by each new Parliament in light of the increasing life expectancy. Consequently the state pension age will increase to 68 ‘by the mid-2030s’ (previously set at 2046), and is ‘likely to increase further to 69 by the late 2040s’.

National Insurance

National Insurance contributions for under-21s will be abolished in an effort to reduce youth unemployment.

Apprenticeships

Employers will be funded directly from HM Revenue & Customs when they take on apprentices.