It all depends ...

The taxing of state pensions sometimes causes confusion where a spouse does not receive a full (or any) state pension in their own right. Whose tax return does the income go on? Well it all depends …

There continue to be many married women reaching the age of 60 (which is still the state pension age for women for a few more years) who are not entitled to a state pension in their own right because they took time off bringing up children and/or because they had for too many years entitlement to pay the married woman's reduced rate of National Insurance contributions (currently 4.85% for employees; nil if self-employed).

Anyone male or female married or unmarried who has paid enough contributions in their working life will earn a pension in their own right. Such a pension is technically known as a category A...