Video: Flat-rate state pension will be 'simpler' Mr McPhail was speaking after the Coalition set out plans to simplify state pension rules into a new "single-tier" system where almost everyone who retires after 2017 gets the same state pension, worth around £145 in today's money. The simplification will benefit the self-employed and people who have taken time out of work to care for children or relatives, since they will now be able to qualify for full state pension. People with less than 10 years of work or care in the UK will not qualify for the new pension, excluding some foreigners who come to the country temporarily.