Small Pension

Thanks for that info pension Pat.

Thank you Rigby.

The rules have changed for people reaching state pension age after 6 April 2016 so annsixty is under the old rules pp quoted - useful having you on GN pp

I think the rules are a complete nightmare and just accept gratefully what I am given!

I thought the rules had changed about using spouses contribution? Might be only for new pensioners?

When my first OH died I had a letter from Newcastle telling me how much of his pension I would get - some of the extra bits etc as I was on course for a full pension of my own - but the minute I remarried a few years later I had a letter giving me a new estimate and minus the extra bits from OH.

Thankyou pat that is reassuring.

You are right Ann but this is not a Widows Pension. A State Pension is made up of several components, a Basic Pension, and various add-ons, according to whether or not the person was contracted in or out of the extra State Pension, which has been called different names over the years.

When a person dies, their bereaved spouse inherits 100 per cent of the deceased persons Basic Pension. Any pension they have in their own right is topped up to that figure, so if the widowed person already receives their own full Basic State Pension, there would be no increase. In addition they would be awarded a percentage of the other components of their partners State Pension.

The letter from DWP stating the April increase will give a breakdown of the components.

WARNING. I retired from The Pension Service 3 years ago, so can't guarantee that this info is current. I believe one of the changes in April included something about Bereavement Benefits. Age Concern can give you up to date info, but I often found it useful for people to understand why they did or didn't receive various benefits.

That is interesting pensionpat I also only get a small pension but never knew what would happen if my H died before me. Not that that is a probability as, in spite of having Alzheimer's, he is fitter than me and only 15 months older, but would I get the whole of his state pension instead of the small amount I get?
I thought a widows pension had been abolished.

Nansypansy. When your friends husband died she would have inherited her husbands State Pension.

This is an old thread - yet another OP who never returned and acknowledged the responses

Is husband paying for everything else apart from food ...... things like household expenses, rates, insurance, repairs. broadband,, tv licence, New items when things like washing machine, vacuum cleaner, computer, kettle toaster, break down.

On the face of it he sounds mean. To sit down together and work out where the money goes might clarify a lot.

Our big problem is that there is almost 11 year age gap between DH and I. This means he can get his state pension this year (reduced due to opting out of SERPS, but that's a whole other issue) and I, being 55 have to wait almost another 13 years (that's assuming that the goal posts don't get moved again) meaning that we will not be able to "retire together" until DH is 78, or in other words probably never.

Did your friend pay the extra pension payments over the years ? I paid Graduated pensions. And Earnings related - your friend may also have paid SERPS which will make quite a difference to her weekly amount.

I don't understand why my friend who is 71 gets nearly double my pension. She was widowed 3 years ago. I am 72 and have been separated for 3 years but not legally separated.

The 'married woman's stamp' came from a time (which if Gransnetters don't remember, they should remember their mothers & grandmothers talking about it) when the National Insurance system assumed that a married woman would share her husband's 'married couple's pension'.
I came from a family of independent-minded women and was told to 'pay my stamp' independently. Others just didn't enquire, weren't told, didn't take an interest, or, sadly, felt they needed the money for the family rather than themselves; but for whatever reason, just didn't pay the full stamp. I think they sometimes feel they were 'conned' because they didn't realise the consequences when they were younger: I knew one woman who assumed that she & her husband would be paid the Couples' Pension when she reached State Pension Age, and was very angry when she had to wait a good many years (as her husband was younger than her)

I think that the 'married woman's stamp' was abolished in 1978, the same year that 'home responsibility credits' were introduced. Many women of OP's generation have State Pensions made up from a patchwork of payments over the course of a chequered employment history.

And OP, I'm afraid that I agree that you need to discuss this carefully with your husband. If this is not an option, then can I respectfully, and as gently as I can on a forum, suggest that you seek help in considering whether there is financial abuse. It is unclear from your post how reasonably the income and bills are divided, but it is clear that you feel it unfair.

chelseababy I have ostrich syndrome

At the risk of sounding harsh, if you don't pay in you can't expect to get a pay out. It is all very well moaning about reduced pensions now, but the women who were happy to pay a reduced rate of NIC made the decision and so have to expect less than those women who chose to pay extra for pension independence. On a personal note OP you need to listen to the very sound advice given on here, the problem is not the mean pension, it is the mean husband. Go to AgeUk and ask for advice.

It was 1978. You still had to have 20 qualifying years for a full pension.

I think it depends when you started getting your pension. If before 2010 Home Resposibilities Protection applied which was not the same as a credit. HRP reduced the number of qualifying years required for a full pension (I think)

I worked for seven years before I married in the late 1960s and I can remember clearly the debate that went on at work about whether to pay the married women's stamp every time someone got married. The number of women who were quite happy to relie on their husband's stamp for their retirement income.

Personally, I never understood those opting for the married women's stamp. I always wanted to be independent and did not want to live off my husband's income, so for me the choice was a no-brainer.

If you were bringing up a family from 1974? onwards you should have had a stamp paid for the years you were in receipt of Family Allowance.

I think it was later than that. I returned to work in January 1979 and only qualified for about a year of automatic NI payments.

The problem lies not with the state and the pension system but how you manage money within your own household.

How you and your husband manage your money is something only you and he can agree on, but since he gets very nearly three times what you get, there seems to be a lot of leeway for negotiation.

You could try visiting Age UK and getting a benefit check done. Your joint income is above the basic pension credit level but you may qualify for a small quantity of top-up pension credit

Not that I think it should ever have been an option

Why was married woman's stamp a con trick? You paid less and got less - sounds fair to me

OP - you can't be critical of the system when it's your husband who is the problem here. There are several things you need to do - some have been mentioned upthread

1. Check that your pension is correct - but did you pay the reduced married woman's rate? The figures you give sound as though that's what's happening
2. Have you less than £16000 in savings? If so, based on your pensions you are almost certainly entitled to pension credit, help with council tax, help with rent ( if you are renting) help with optical and dental costs. Go to CAB for detailed advice
3. Are you having private dental treatment? You should be having NHS treatment and you then shouldn't be paying £100 for an extraction

The real problem here though is the way your DH behaves with 'his' pension and you allowing him to get away with it. If you are entitled to some help, no doudt he'll pocket the lot and you'll let him. It's simply not true or fair that 'oldies' don't get help - there's lots out there for you but your financial arrangements with your dh are the root cause of the problem. If you posted this on MN there would say in chorus LTB but this is not realistic clearly. I do agree though that you should at least stop buying food for both of you - and then tell him that you need to revisit your financial arrangements . He just sounds truly horrible