National Insurance Act 1965

[F1 36 Graduated retirement benefit. E+W+S

(1) Subject to the provisions of the Act, graduated retirement benefit shall be payable to any person who is over pensionable age and who [F2 is entitled to a retirement pension], and shall be an increase in the weekly rate of his retirement pension equal to [F3 16.43] pence for each unit, ascertained in accordance with subsections (2) and (3) of this section, of the graduated contributions properly paid by him as an insured person, the result being rounded to the nearest whole penny, taking ½p as nearest to the next whole penny above.

(2) For the purpose of graduated retirement benefit [F4 , a unit of graduated contributions shall be £7.50.]

(3) Where a person’s graduated contributions calculated at the said rate do not make an exact number of units any incomplete fraction of a unit shall, if it is one-half or more, be treated as a complete unit.

[F5 (4) Where a person's entitlement to graduated retirement benefit is deferred—

(a) Schedule 2 to the Social Security (Graduated Retirement Benefit) (No.2) Regulations 1978; and

(b) Schedule 1 to the 2005 Regulations,

shall have effect and both those Schedules shall be construed and have effect as if they were part of this subsection.

(4A) For the purposes of subsection (4), a person's entitlement to graduated retirement benefit is deferred—

(a) where he would be entitled to a Category A or Category B retirement pension but for the fact that his entitlement is deferred within the meaning in section 55(3) of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992, if and so long as his entitlement to such a pension is deferred;

(b) where he is treated under subsection (7) as receiving a Category A or a Category B retirement pension at a nominal weekly rate, if and so long as he does not become entitled to graduated retirement benefit by reason only of not satisfying the conditions in section 1 of the Social Security Administration Act 1992 (entitlement to benefit dependent on claim),

and in relation to graduated retirement benefit, “period of deferment” shall be construed accordingly.]

(5) For the purposes of subsection (4) of this section, the Secretary of State may by regulations provide for treating all or any of the graduated contributions paid by a person in the tax year in which he attained pensionable age as having been paid before, or as having been paid after, the day on which he attained that age, whether or not the contribution in question was so paid.

F6 (6) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(7) A person who [F7 attained pensionable age before 6 April 2016] and [F8 has claimed], but is not entitled to a retirement pension [F9 (except a person who is not so entitled because of an election under section 54(1) of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992 or because he has withdrawn his claim)], shall be treated for the purposes of the foregoing provisions of this section as receiving a retirement pension at a nominal weekly rate:

Provided that—

(a) this subsection shall not confer any right to graduated retirement benefit on a person who would be entitled to a retirement pension but for some provision of the Act or of regulations disqualifying him for receipt of it; and

(b) regulations may provide that any right by virtue of this subsection to benefit at less than a specified weekly rate shall be satisfied either altogether or for a specified period by the making of a single payment of the prescribed amount.

(8) In this section and in section 37 below—

• “graduated contributions” means graduated contributions under the National Insurance Act 1965 or the M1 National Insurance Act 1959;

• “insured person” means insured person under the National Insurance Act 1965 or the M2 National Insurance Act 1946;

• “retirement pension” means retirement pension of any category [F10 under the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992];

• “the Act” means the M3 Social Security Act 1975;

• [F11 “the 2005 Regulations” means the Social Security (Graduated Retirement Benefit) Regulations 2005,]

and any reference in section 37 below to “section 36 of this Act” or to any of its subsections is a reference to that section or subsection as it is here set out.

(9) This section and section 37 below and the Act shall be construed and have effect as if this section and section 37 below were included in Chapter I of Part II or that Act (contributory benefits); and references to that Chapter, that Part of that Act in any other enactment or in any instrument shall be construed accordingly:

Provided that nothing in this subsection shall affect the construction of any reference to section 36 or 37 of this Act or of that Act or to any of the subsections of those sections; and any increase in the weekly rate of a person’s retirement pension, to the extent that it is attributable to subsection (4) of this section, shall be left out of account in determining the weekly rate of that pension for the purposes of [F12 section 30B(3) of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992, regulations 11(1) and 18(7) of the Social Security (Incapacity Benefit) (Transitional) Regulations 1995 and [F13 regulation 10(6) of the Jobseeker’s Allowance (Transitional Provisions) Regulations 1996] (rates of incapacity benefit and jobseeker’s allowance in transitional cases for persons over pensionable age).]

F14 (10) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .]

Textual Amendments

F1 Act repealed with saving by Social Security (Consequential Provisions) Act 1975 (c. 18), s. 2, Sch. 1 Pt. 1, Sch. 3 para. 7; and ss. 36, 37, 118(1) continued in force (with modifications) by S.I. 1978/393, regs. 2, 3, Schs. 1, 2

F2 Words in s. 36(1) (as continued in force by S.I. 1978/393, Sch. 1) substituted (as from 1.10.1989) by S.I. 1989/1642, reg. 5(2)(a)(i)

F3 Sum in s. 36(1) substituted (with effect in accordance with arts. 1(4)(5), 7 of the amending S.I.) by The Social Security Benefits Up-rating Order 2023 (S.I. 2023/316), arts. 1(3)(c), 12(1)

F4 Words in s. 36(2) (so far as continuing in force) substituted (6.4.2010) by The Social Security (State Pension and National Insurance Credits) Regulations 2009 (S.I. 2009/2206), regs. 1(3), 3(1) (with reg. 3(2))

F5 S. 36(4)(4A) substituted for s. 36(4) (so far as continuing in force) (6.4.2005) by The Social Security (Graduated Retirement Benefit) Regulations 2005 (S.I. 2005/454), regs. 1(1), 2(2)(a), 5, Schs. 1, 2

F6 S. 36(6) repealed by Social Security (Consequential Provisions) Act 1975 (c. 18), s. 2, Sch. 1 Pt. I

F7 Words in s. 36(7) (so far as continuing in force) substituted (6.4.2016) by Pensions Act 2014 (c. 19), s. 56(4), Sch. 12 para. 53(2) (with Sch. 12 para. 87(1)(2))

F8 Words in s. 36(7) (as continued in force by S.I. 1978/393, Sch. 1) substituted (as from 1.10.1989) by S.I. 1989/1642, reg. 5(2)(a)(iii)

F9 Words in s. 36(7) (as continued in force by S.I. 1978/393, Sch. 1) inserted (1.11.1995) by S.I. 1995/2606, regs. 1(1), 3

F10 Words in s. 36(8) (so far as continuing in force) inserted (6.4.2016) by Pensions Act 2014 (c. 19), s. 56(4), Sch. 12 para. 53(3) (with Sch. 12 para. 87(1)(2))

F11 Words in s. 36(8) (so far as continuing in force) inserted (6.4.2005) by The Social Security (Graduated Retirement Benefit) Regulations 2005 (S.I. 2005/454), regs. 1(1), 2(2)(b)

F12 Words in s. 36(9) (as continued in force by S.I. 1978/393, Sch. 1) substituted (7.10.1996) by The Social Security and Child Support (Jobseeker’s Allowance) (Consequential Amendments) Regulations 1996 (S.I. 1996/1345), regs. 1, 18

F13 Words in s. 36(9) (as continued in force by S.I. 1978/393, Sch. 1) substituted (21.3.1997) by The Social Security (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 1997 (S.I. 1997/454), regs. 1(a), 5

F14 S. 36(10) (as continued in force by S.I. 1978/393, Sch. 1) omitted (6.9.1999) by virtue of S.I. 1999/2422, art. 3(3)

Modifications etc. (not altering text)

C1 Ss. 36, 37: power to amend conferred by Social Security Administration Act 1992 (c. 5), s. 150(11)

C2 S. 36(4): power to replace s. 36(4) conferred (1.7.1992) by Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992 (c. 4), ss. 62(1)(a), 177(4)

Marginal Citations

M1 1959 c. 47.

M2 1946 c. 67.

M3 1975 c. 14.