STATE PENSION

Hi Brunette10, there’s a distinction between having to keep paying NI until you reach state retirement year because you are still working, and not yet having enough contributing years for the full new state pension. You could have someone who already has enough years of NI contributions to get the new state pension, have not yet reached retirement age, but because they still work have to keep paying NI even though it won’t increase their state pension.

I was wondering if it’s possible that you already have enough years of NI contributions to get the full new state pension, and what the website is telling you is the years you would need to keep contributing NI if you were still working.

The government site should tell you exactly how many more years you need to pay NI contributions for in orderly qualify for new state pension, and also tell you separately how many years you have to pay NI for if still working.

Hi Abuelananny, yes I think pension rules can be a bit of a nightmare!

For NI contributions for the years in the early part of your record when you were in education, and the 5 years where you got NI credits due to child benefit, you were not ‘opted out’ of the second state pension, because you couldn’t be in the second state pension because you weren’t working. So ironically those years in which you didn’t pay any NI yourself will be counting as full years towards the 35 years you need for new full state pension.

So it’s the remaining years when you were in LGPS that you were ‘opted out’ of the state second pension. These years aren’t counting as full years towards the 35 needed.

Tony2018 - It didn't actually say that what it did say was that 2 years to contribute b/4 April 2019 and also state that I hadn't contributed for 6 years which is from 2011 - present. So not quite sure what that means.

Hi Tony2018. The early part of my contributions record was through being in education, and 5 years in the middle through receiving child benefit...does this make a difference? Thank you for your help, it is a minefield!

Hi Abuelananny, how many years above 35 years will depend on how long you were opted out for, the longer you were opted out then the greater the number of years above 35 will be needed. 44 years of contributions does seem like a lot! Were you in the LGPS for all the 36 years of contributions, or did the early years of NI contributions cover time you were in education?

Hi Tony2018 thank you for your quick reply! I will indeed check again, previously when I rang the help line I was basically told I'd have to pay voluntary contributions from 2016 until my state retirement age of 66. This will be another 8 years, on top of the 36 years I have already paid! I stopped work in 2012, haven't worked since, and worked soley within Local Government.

Hi Abuelananny, if you’ve been opted out of the second state pension due to being a member of a defined benefit scheme such as local government scheme or teachers pension scheme, then you’re personal online government account will tell you how many years worth of full NI contributions you will need to get the new full state pension, for example it might be 38 years or 39 years (it will depend how long you were a member of the contracted out scheme). Once you’ve got the 38 years or 39 years or whatever it is you could at that point stop working even if you were only 60s years old or whatever, not pay any more NI contributions, and still get the full new state pension when you reached state pension retirement age at 66 or whatever. You would only pay NI contributions in intervening years if you were still working.

Tony2018 I think the above is true, unless you were a member of a defined benefit pension scheme? In which case, even if you have met the qualifying years criteria, unless you continue to pay NI, or make voluntary top up payments, you will not receive the full, New state pension?

It might be worth rechecking your personal account on the government website. It will always say that you need to keep making NI contributions until the year you are eligible for the state pension, if you are still working, even if you already have enough qualifying years of NI contributions for the full state pension. However if you already have enough years NI contributions for the full state pension some years before reaching state pension age, give up work at that point even though not yet old enough to receive state pension, you wouln’t need to pay voluntary NI contributions for the intervening years, so long as you’re not working.

By saying provide childcare, this means whilst the parent(s) work, not going off on a jolly!

Also check to see whether you are eligible for credits. For example if you are in receipt of Carers Allowance, double check you are actually being allocated the credits. You may also be able to claim NI credits if you provide child care to children within your family under the age of 12. It's too long winded to explain here, so Google specified childcare credits.

If it was me, and I could afford it, I would pay the NI voluntary contributions in order to get the full new state pension. When you logged into your own government account did it specifically say you would need eight more years of contributions to get the full new state pension?

Tony2018 - Thank you so much for this information and very well put I think. I have checked and of course my contributions stopped when I retired in 2011 so would have to contribute for all these years since despite my total of 42 years of contributing. Probably not worth it. I still think it is an appalling way the government have left all of us women in this situation. Two things the time we have had to wait to gain access to our state pension AND of course not really getting back what rightfully is ours. Thanks again.

Sorry first sentence should have been ‘Members of defined benefit pensions....’

Members of defined contribution pensions such as local government pension scheme and teachers pension scheme were automatically opted out of paying extra national insurance contribution payments for the pre 2016 ‘second state pension’ or SERPS. So instead of building up a second state pension under the pre2016 state pension scheme, the money was instead going into the defined benefit scheme.

However for the new state pension it does mean you will need more than 35 full years of Nic payments to get the full new state pension.

You can check online to see exactly which years you have full or partial payments for, and how many more years of contributions you need to get the full new pension, and what amount of full new pension you will get with your current contributions. It costs about £700 to buy the current year voluntary national insurance contribution, previous years are cheaper.

Yes Abuelananny I think this may be the case for me. I also was in Local Government all of my working life and they choose to 'opt out' but to be honest can't remember if there was a choice or not or indeed that's what Local Government did for all employees. I just feel after 42 years of contributing towards a state pension, having had to wait an extra 6 years from age 60 to benefit from it and now I'm told I won't be getting new amount of pension makes me rather annoyed. I was aware like all of us women who come into the category of having to wait all these extra years to actually get our pension BUT not to get the full pension is beyond understanding and acceptance.

Just to expand a little, anyone who had occupational pensions which were "opted out" will find that they will possibly fall short of receiving the New state pension in full. Also, please be very cautious of paying voluntary top ups for any year prior to 2016, as I have read that whilst HMRC will take your money, it's likely your contributions will not boost your pension pay out.

This is all very confusing, sorry to have misled you earlier, it's a minefield! ring!!

Hi, I'm the same boat, I now need to wait until I'm 66 to receive my state pension. I have 36 years of N.I. contributions, which is 1 more year than necessary to claim the pension in full. However.,.as I worked in the public sector, apparently my contributions do not count fully, and I need to pay voluntary top ups from 2016-when the New Pension was introduced, up until I am 66...could this be what your predicament is Brunette10?

humptydumpty that is for women born before April 1953.

The OP and I were born after and we have to have 35 years' contributions.

www.gov.uk/new-state-pension/your-national-insurance-record-and-your-state-pension

Brunette10 the government website

www.gov.uk/state-pension/eligibility

clearly states that you need 30 years' contributions, why not ring them for advice (to get a forecast, ring 0800 731 7898 option 2 - you'll need your NI number)

Go and talk to the CAB, they will have all the info. Perhaps they think you have been working during that time and not paying contributions? It seems very unfair as you have already paid more than the required 35 years. I wonder if you should have been doing something like signing on for work since you retired?

Please let us all know the outcome as your experience will be useful to others.

Brunette as I understand - if I remember rightly when I checked the DWP site to get a forecast it states that even though you have the qualifying years for your pension, you still have to continue to pay NI if you're currently working.

You can request a pension forecast online or by phone.

Sorry no - how worrying. I am the same age and had also believed I would get the full pension when I retire at the end of this year. There was no mention of having to pay contributions up to 2019 when my husband and I checked. I hope someone can advise.