At present the state pension age (SPA) for men is 65 and women 60 years. To qualify for a full basic state pension men currently need 44 years of National Insurance contribution and women 39 years.

Thanks to a piece of legislation passed way back in 1995 this is about to change.

From April 2010 you will only need to evidence 30 years of contributions to qualify for a full basic state pension - the same for both men and women.

Between April 2010 and 2020 the SPA for women will gradually rise until in April 2020 the SPA for men and women will be the same, 65 years.

Between April 2024 and April 2046 the SPA for both men and women will gradually rise to 68 years.

So the good news is in future you will have to prove 30 years of contributions, not 39 or 44 years; the bad news you may have to wait longer to start drawing your pension.

The changes will also have an impact on National Insurance contributions. Up to 5 April 2010 65 year old men and 60 year old women do not have to pay National Insurance. As the state retirement age increases from 6 April 2010 so will the date on which you will be exempt from making further contributions.

Men and women who have already reached retirement age and are in receipt of a state pension at 5 April 2010 will not be affected by these changes. They will continue to be exempt from making National Insurance contributions and continue to draw their pension.