Article 11 establishes the basic rules for determining entitlement to and the amount of U.K. retirement benefits based on totalized (i.e., combined) U.K. and U.S. coverage credits.  Under the U.K. system when the Agreement became effective on January 1, 1985, a basic retirement pension was payable to women at age 60 and men at age 65 who met the minimum coverage requirement.  Subsequent legislative changes set the retirement age for women at 62, gradually rising to 65 by November 2018.  Additional changes raised the retirement age for both men and women gradually to age 66 from 2019 to 2020, and to age 67 from 2026 to 2028.  In general, when the original Agreement became effective, the minimum coverage requirement was met if a worker earned coverage for at least 25 percent (changed in 1988 to 20 percent) of the years in his working life.  In retirement claims, a “working life” was generally considered to be 44 years for women and 49 years for men. This period was reduced to 44 years for men and 39 years for women, before being replaced by a universal standard of 30 years effective for persons reaching retirement age on or after April 6, 2010. 

To get a full basic pension, (a flat rate amount equal to about $50 in 1983, when the Agreement was under consideration, and currently equal to $160.78),   a worker must have earned coverage for 90% of the years in his working life.  Those who reached basic pension age on or before April 5, 2010 generally require contributions paid or credited for at least 10-11 years.  A worker can defer taking a pension, and qualifies for certain benefit advantages for doing so.  A worker who does not earn sufficient coverage to qualify for a full basic pension can receive a reduced pension proportionate to the percentage of a working life actually completed under the U.K. system.   Thus, persons with insufficient coverage to qualify for a full basic retirement pension may qualify for a reduced pension with as little as one qualifying year of coverage. Also, the United Kingdom credits contributions based on certain factors other than paid work, e.g., time spent caring for family members, receiving a child’s benefit for doing so, periods of unemployment or incapacity, etc.  When the original Agreement became effective, the basic retirement pension was increased by about $30.00 per week if the pensioner had a dependant spouse (see the above annotation for Article 10.2 concerning the elimination of this benefit) and by about $13.00 per week for each dependent child, at 1983 rates.  From April 2003, the child’s benefit became a tax-financed, non-contributory benefit system for all parents of children under age 16, or under age 20 in certain circumstances. Currently, the child’s benefit is $124.38 monthly for the first dependent child, and $82.31 monthly for the second and subsequent children.