Those who have worked their whole lives and paid in a full National Insurance contribution would have got a bigger pension under existing rules, experts said.

The new flat-rate state pension will penalise those who have worked their whole lives and paid in a full National Insurance contribution, experts have said. Deborah Cooper, a partner at pension consultants Mercer, said that "ordinary employees who would expect to remain in work and pay in full NI throughout their careers" would end up paying for the costs of the new £140 a week non-means tested pension.

"£140 per week is a better prospect for those who would have struggled to pay in sufficient NI," Ms Cooper said, "but most people who worked throughout their careers and paid in their taxes could have expected to build up more. Many employees might find their take-home pay falling and without necessarily getting a better state pension. They will need to think about saving more if they want to target the pensions previous generations have received."

Proposals for the new pension will appear in a White Paper published in the spring, but the Chancellor, George Osborne, confirmed in the Budget that it would be a flat-rate weekly pension that will not be means-tested.....Read more here---: 1.5m hard-working pensioners penalised by new £140 state pension