Ismaili Centres Archive
28 March 2023: At around 11.30 AM today, a man armed with a knife entered the premises of the Ismaili Centre in Lisbon and attacked three people, killing two and injuring the third. The police and security services immediately responded, and the attacker has been taken into custody.
28 de março de 2023: Esta manhã, pelas 11h30, um homem armado com um objeto cortante entrou nas instalações do Centro Ismaili Lisboa e atacou três pessoas, atingindo duas delas mortalmente e ferindo uma terceira. A polícia e os serviços de segurança responderam imediatamente, e o agressor foi levado sob custódia.
The increased cost of energy and the use of fossil fuels are creating increasing financial and health impacts on households and businesses. This is due to the increasing demand for and the limited supply of energy sources, as well as the use of carbon-based fuels to generate energy. This can lead not only to an increase in prices of goods and services but also effects on mental and physical health.
As part of their pledge to be climate champions, the Aga Khan Scouts and Guides in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, planted a micro-forest at Upanga Jamatkhana last month in collaboration with Ismaili CIVIC and the Aga Khan Foundation (AKF).
Changes to state pensions from April 2023
The government is making a series of changes to the state pension next month.
As well as reinstating the triple lock, there will be changes to a range of pensioner payments. The government is also looking closely at raising the state pension age, which is due to be announced in the coming months. Meanwhile, there are just a few weeks to go to buy National Insurance credits to boost your state pension, although the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has said there may be some flexibility with the 6 April deadline, due to high demand.
Set out below are the changes you need to know about that will kick in on 6 April, whether you have yet to reach state pension age, started claiming your pension recently, or have been receiving it for years already.
New state pension
Those receiving the new state pension will get a boost in the new tax year, with a 10.1% rise in their payment. This is due to the return of the triple lock, which was temporarily suspended last year. The triple lock ensures the state pension rises by whichever is highest: 2.5%, inflation or average earnings. This year, the pay-out is going up with inflation, which has been running at a 40-year high. The full new state pension is currently worth £185.15 a week, and this will rise to £203.85 on 6 April. This is the biggest-ever increase to the state pension.
People are eligible for this type of state pension if they are a woman born on or after 6 April 1953, or a man born on or after 6 April 1951.
So, if you have not reached state pension age yet, you’ll be entitled to the new state pension when you come to retire. However, you must have at least 10 qualifying years of National Insurance contributions to be eligible - rising to 35 years for those who want to secure the full amount.
Basic state pension
If you retired before April 2016, you may be receiving the basic state pension. This is an older-style pension that the government pays to men born before 6 April 1951 and women born before 6 April 1953.
The full basic state pension is £141.85 a week, and this will rise to £156.20 a week, thanks to the triple lock.
Married woman’s pension
The next change relates to the married woman’s pension, a type of basic state pension. Under the old system, women could derive payments from their spouse or civil partner’s National Insurance contributions. The sum is worth 60% of the basic state pension rate.
It goes up every April in parallel with the basic state pension. This means it will rise from £85 a week to £93.60 next month.
Over 80 pension
As the name suggests, this is a state payment for people aged 80 or over. To qualify, they must either get a basic state pension of less than £85 a week, or no state pension at all.
It’s currently worth £85 a week. For the 2023/24 tax year, the amount will rise to £93.60 a week.
Additional state pension
The additional state pension (also known as the second state pension or SERPs) is also protected by the triple lock, and will increase by 10.1% on 6 April 2023. It is a top-up that you could get in addition to the basic state pension.
How much a person gets from the additional state pension usually depends on how long they paid National Insurance for, their earnings and whether or not they were contracted out. It’s also possible to inherit additional state pension from your partner.
The maximum sum people can receive will increase from £185.90 a week to £204.68 a week.
To find out how other government benefits will change on 6 April, check out this useful list on the government website Benefit and pension rates 2023 to 2024 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Please contact AKEPB if you wish to seek further assistance or attend AKEPB virtual clinic every Monday from 8:15pm to 9:00pm for a private and confidential consultation.
AKEPB UK Personal Meeting (Zoom) ID - 813 899 6436
CAUTION: The above-mentioned write-up is extracted from various professional journals and articles including HMRC guidance notes and MoneyWeek where relevant.
Nearly one in four (24%) of those aged 40 to 75 do not have a private pension, according to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP)
The Planning and Preparing for Later Life survey found that while most people had started saving for retirement, 24% of 40-75 year olds did not have a private pension, and 16% had not yet started saving.
Only 23% had an idea of the amount they would need to save for retirement, with the majority unsure.
People on lower incomes were less likely to have started saving for retirement. Around 32% of those with incomes of less than £10,500 had not yet started saving compared to just 1% of those with incomes of £44,000 or more.
People with higher incomes were more likely to expect to retire before the current state pension age (SPa), which is 65. For example, 54% of those with gross earnings of £44,000 a year or more expected to retire before the current Spa compared with only 36% of those earning below £10,500.
Similarly, people with savings over £100,000 were more likely to expect to retire before the Spa (15%) than those with no savings or those with savings under £15,000 (34%).
The survey provided evidence on how far individuals can make well-informed decisions about how and when to retire and whether they will be in a position to enjoy financial security when they do.
Many respondents reported being unable to afford to make contributions to their pension, with 53% currently without one.
In response to the data, the DWP said: ‘The question of whether and how people are planning for retirement is becoming ever more important as people live longer and have greater freedom over when and how they retire and take their pensions.’
Most people had made at least some provision for ensuring they have an income in retirement, with 63% having started saving by their 30s. Around three in four (76%) of 40 to 75 year olds had a private pension.
However, those currently on low incomes are likely to be particularly financially vulnerable in retirement, often requiring further support.
Not being able to afford to make contributions was the most common reason for not having a pension.
Those who had not yet retired (62%) expected to continue in paid work beyond their ideal retirement age. Currently, 14% of respondents aged 66 to 70 remain in employment and 5% of those are over 70.
Factors to help them work longer included flexible working and the potential to work fewer hours as they approach retirement.
Self-employed respondents stated they were less likely to save for retirement (65%), expecting to retire later than those in employment.
Reasons for this included financial security and enjoying the flexibility their self-employment afforded.
Around one in 10 (11%) respondents were currently self-employed in some capacity and as many as 29% had experienced a period of self-employment at some point in their career.
The research was commissioned by the DWP and was carried out by the National Centre for Social Research (NatCen). Data was collected from 2,655 40 to 75 year olds across the UK between November 2020 and February 2021.
For more information, the DWP Planning and Preparing for Later Life report can be found here.
Please contact AKEPB if you wish to seek further assistance or attend AKEPB virtual clinic every Monday from 8:15pm to 9:00pm for a private and confidential consultation.
AKEPB UK Personal Meeting (Zoom) ID - 813 899 6436
CAUTION: The above-mentioned write-up is extracted from various professional journals and articles including HMRC guidance notes where relevant.
Ismaili Judge appointed to Lake Superior Court.
The Aga Khan Youth and Sports Board for Pakistan (AKYSB) is excited to welcome participants, facilitators and core team members for an unforgettable summer with the Broadening Horizons Youth Camp (BHYC).
Pakistan Day, celebrated on 23 March, saw four outstanding individuals receive prestigious awards from the President of Pakistan, Dr Arif Alvi. These included the Hilal-e-Imtiaz, Sitara-e-Imtiaz, Tamgha-e-Imtiaz, and the President’s Award for Pride of Performance. The recipients were recognised for significant contributions to their respective fields, to the national interests of Pakistan, or to world peace, cultural, and other significant public endeavours.
Diversity; is a term so various that it has the power to change anything. Why is that? Diversity is the exchange of cultural, political, religious, and economic information as well as rituals that can bring people and faiths together. We call this an intermixed community. Why are we emphasizing this? Because the Ismaili Community is a great example of it.
In a special interview for The Ismaili TV, Michael Kocher, General Manager of the Aga Khan Foundation (AKF) speaks about the complex and multigenerational issues of poverty and lack of inclusivity. He shares examples of the work AKF is doing in 18 countries to improve the quality of life in an equitable and sustainable way.
Em celebração do Navroz os seniores reuniram-se na Residencial Jardim da Amadora para um convívio que contou com almoço e entretenimento proporcionado pela Lisbon Ismaili Band.
No passado dia 18 de março recebemos os D.A.M.A no Centro Ismaili, Lisboa. E que tarde maravilhosa que foi! Abrimos as portas do Centro, demos a conhecer o nosso espaço e a nossa comunidade, e, entre conversa e música, eles deram-se a conhecer a nós. Fique a saber todos os detalhes deste fantástico encontro!
On the 18th of March we received the D.A.M.A at the Ismaili Centre, Lisbon. And what a wonderful afternoon it was! We opened the Centre's doors, made our space and our community known, and, between conversation and music, they made themselves known to us as well. Get to know all the details of this fantastic meeting!
O evento “Speed Mentoring: vou para o secundário e agora?” está de volta! O seu educando vai para o secundário e tem dúvidas sobre a área a escolher? Ou, se calhar, ainda está indeciso entre o currículo Português e o currículo IB? E você, sabe como o apoiar nesta escolha crucial, de modo a tomar as melhores decisões para o futuro? Então este evento é para si!
As inscrições para os Summer Youth Camps de 2023 já se encontram abertas! Na próxima sexta-feira, 31 de março, junte-se à nossa Information Night a decorrer após as cerimónias religiosas no Salão Multiusos do Centro Ismaili, Lisboa.
