Unable to understand why I don’t get a full pension....

Hi Shinamae. Yes I am the same as you my husband gets £45 more state pension per month than me we are both of NHS background. He did manage to speak to DWP and they told him that they take our NHS pensions into account and as my NHS pension is more than his they take that into account so
he was told we get the right amounts.

One thing is clear. Those who saved in a private or occupational pension scheme which produces a moderate monthly amount can actually end off worse financially that those who never put a penny aside. You can find yourself in the position where your income is just a little too high to claim any kind of benefit such as housing benefit or council tax rebate. And you have to pay through the nose for dental care, spectacles, etc. Those who have never saved and are entirely reliant on state pension probably get pension credit which is a passport to all kinds of subs and handouts. So pound for pound those who have provided for themselves in a modest retirement are financially scammed to sub out the lazy and indigent.

Yes, I have a friend who didn’t work in this country for 26 years so she gets a small pension but it is topped up by pension credit and yes she gets dental treatment et cetera free and it really does p** s me off to be honest!!

Shinamae

Yes, I have a friend who didn’t work in this country for 26 years so she gets a small pension but it is topped up by pension credit and yes she gets dental treatment et cetera free and it really does p** s me off to be honest!!

If you are on a very low pension and received your pension before 6 April 2016 but above Pension Guarantee because of very small private pensions, you may be entitled to Pension Savings Credit.

Also, although Pension Guarantee is an automatic gateway to other benefits those benefits are available to others on a low income (but above the guarantee) so it is worth looking if you are only just above. There is a lot of information and calculators online.

One of the problems with these benefits is that they are so underclaimed not that people are getting them. It's thought 1.3 million people aren't claiming the pension credit benefit they are entitled to.

Personally, I would rather people have enough to live on in older age but think it's a terrible system.

It is utterly inequitable that people who have tried to provide for their retirement find themselves worse off than those who haven't. It is the same with social care for the elderly, and for younger people whose savings disqualify them from claiming universal credit, or who get a small inheritance which means their claims are stopped.

All of this keeps people trapped in poverty, as there is little point in trying to be self-sufficient when you know that you may be better off if you leave it to the state to provide.

Honestly this has been such a helpful thread and the wealth of knowledge and experience on gransnet never ceases to amaze me but I can still not make head nor tale of it. ?‍♀️...It does seem to be very,very complicated even for people who do have some knowledge of the pension system....Very interesting but exceedingly complex

Doodledog

It is utterly inequitable that people who have tried to provide for their retirement find themselves worse off than those who haven't. It is the same with social care for the elderly, and for younger people whose savings disqualify them from claiming universal credit, or who get a small inheritance which means their claims are stopped.

All of this keeps people trapped in poverty, as there is little point in trying to be self-sufficient when you know that you may be better off if you leave it to the state to provide.

Doodledog, how do you know those with less haven't tried?

ETA: None of that is to suggest that pensions to anyone should be cut, incidentally - I am arguing for a decent flat rate for everyone, without savings or other pensions reducing that pound for pound.

Sorry - cross posted with your question.

I don't know who has tried and who hasn't, and it is not for others to judge that. I am (as I think you know) pointing out that when those who have little little do without in order to provide for their old age it is very unfair to have that count against them - people would be better off spending every penny as they earn it and letting the state pick up the tab in the end.

Ah, well, I'm with you there as it's the only way I can see to stop people accusing all of the poorer members of society being poor deliberately

It would make sense and, I feel, could provide a better basic income than we do now without the gaps of the poor person on £1 more than someone else either not getting anything or having to through even more hoops to get some of the same benefits.

I also think pensions are a good place to start with basic income but what's the betting it would only be for new pensioners if they did bring it in.

I didn't get the nuance in the post Sat 22-May-21 23:22:58 Doodledog. Oh for facial expressions and tone of voice. I don't think it does act as a disincentive but you can see that it might and certainly, some must wonder why they had tried.

biglouis

Those who have never saved and are entirely reliant on state pension probably get pension credit which is a passport to all kinds of subs and handouts. So pound for pound those who have provided for themselves in a modest retirement are financially scammed to sub out the lazy and indigent.

That’s a rather sweeping and inaccurate statement. Not to mention offensive. Those who are entirely reliant on state pension do not receive pension credit. Pension credit is paid to those have a shortfall in their state pension and the credit tops it up to the full amount. Yes, I believe this does then entitle them to other fringe benefits. But to label someone as lazy because they are in that position is wrong.

They could be in that situation because they have suffered serious long term ill health resulting in gaps in their employment because they were unable to work.

They could have spent many years as a full time carer to a family member and as a result were unable to have paid employment. It’s unfair to label folk as lazy just because they haven’t saved up a pension pot. It’s not always by choice.

PippaZ

I didn't get the nuance in the post Sat 22-May-21 23:22:58 Doodledog. Oh for facial expressions and tone of voice. I don't think it does act as a disincentive but you can see that it might and certainly, some must wonder why they had tried.

Yes, a lot is lost in translation in text.

My MIL is in that sort of situation. Her widow's pension takes her to just over the cut-off for pension credit (she is in her 90s, and like most women of her generation has no occupational pension of her own). Her late husband's pension was generous at one time, but inflation has eroded it.

Her neighbour did qualify for pension credit, and got all sorts of benefits as a result, putting her in a position where she was significantly better off than my MIL.

It's not a judgement on either of them - the system is and always was weighted against women in the first place, but they have both had similar lives, and it seems very wrong that one should be treated so differently from the other.

I'm not sure that's quite right Grannynannywanny although I agree with your message. It is correct that no one receiving the basic New State Pension would get Pension Guarantee Credit (PGC) as that pension was set at the level of the basic of the Old State Pension plus PGC and, because of the way pension increases are calculated will outstrip the Old State Pension plus PGC year on year (the increases will be compound). You are right that in the case of shortfall they may get the PGC but they may also cease to get it in years to come because of the outstripping.

However, if all you get is the basic Old State Pension you will continue to receive PGC.

Simple it isn't and neither, as you say, is life.

I do wonder, re the fact that the New State Pension will outstrip the Old State Pension plus PGC year on year, (because of the way pension increases are calculated) which government will face the fact that we will have a tranch of the very poorest pensioners being the oldest pensioners - and what, if anything, they will do about it.

Shinamae, I wrote a letter to the pensions place in Newcastle, asking for clarification of how my state pension was made up, as I couldn't get a good explanation on the phone.
Writing was very successful as I got a written reply explaining everything clearly.
I now have this on file for future reference.
Why not write to them?
Good luck.

Universal basic income. Sorted.

Grannycool52

Shinamae, I wrote a letter to the pensions place in Newcastle, asking for clarification of how my state pension was made up, as I couldn't get a good explanation on the phone.
Writing was very successful as I got a written reply explaining everything clearly.
I now have this on file for future reference.
Why not write to them?
Good luck.

Thank you......l will. ?

Hm. I wrote to them nearly a month ago asking very politely for clarification on my amount which is £1,000+ a year less than the full amount. Always single, always worked, got more than enough years in.
Still waiting to hear back ?

I contacted the Pensions website and found that I was missing some contributions records due to working part time as a peri violin teacher. They have told me the amount I need to pay to make up the “missing years”. I think I will ask for an actual written statement as thinking of taking early retirement at 62 and relying on my work pension and savings for a bit. This is a great forum with so many knowledgable people!

Ailidh

Hm. I wrote to them nearly a month ago asking very politely for clarification on my amount which is £1,000+ a year less than the full amount. Always single, always worked, got more than enough years in.
Still waiting to hear back ?

I had a query in 2020 regarding years I worked abroad. No doubt I’m old-fashioned, but I prefer to have things in writing. From July to November I sent several messages to the Pensions Service via their website and email, then two letters. The only response was one random email in September asking for further details, and that wasn’t followed up. When I rang instead, I got good advice and knew how to proceed (though it’s still far from sorted). The person I spoke to could see all my correspondence duly logged on the system, and couldn’t explain why nobody had answered any of it.

In my experience, once you actually get through to the Pension Service (and I once nodded off while I was waiting) they’re very knowledgeable and helpful.

Babs758, I was strongly advised to get a written statement as to what years to buy in to enhance my pension. From the information on my Government Gateway account, I was expecting to pay for 3 years. When the statement arrived (it took 5 weeks), it turned out that only two of them would make any difference. I was glad I waited, as HMRC had warned that if I overpaid, there was no way I’d get the money back.

It could be because you work or worked part-time which is the same for me, as now been told that I will be 66 when I get mine which is another 3 years to wait when most of my female friends got theirs at the age of 60, which is Not nice of this government, as it wasn't until my own brother was 66 that he received his. Plus lots of different comments on the different years to qualify with like others have mentioned.

Artaylar

Darn it, first time I've tried an emoticon on here and it hasnt worked.....back to the drawing board on that one.

you need to use square brackets not curvy ones [ ]

Surely £637.92 x 13 = £691.08?
That's the full pension, isn't it?