Scared about lack of pension contributions. Is there anything I can do?

I have said before Doodledog, I see a big difference between someone with caring responsibilities who stays at home but whose partner pays plenty of tax and NI, and someone whose husband is apparently not well paid, and therefore will not pay much tax and NI but who nevertheless chooses, despite a good education and no mention of children, low paid and irregular work and 13 years on a zero hours contract. That is a choice for which the rest of us pay. It is by no means comparable to someone with caring responsibilities and a high earning partner. We shall not agree on this.

LilyGransnet

Hi all

We think we made a mistake here so we're rowing back and undeleting the thread.

Well, I guess that the Mods had their misgivings too at the outset.

Serendipity22

If you have children, a stamp is paid for you because of the years you have not worked or p/t work..

You can find out what pension you will receive online....

If you work full-time while bringing up children as a single parent, does that mean that you can have two (or even three) pensions for those years?

Well said Doodledog. I'm astounded by some of the judgemental and obnoxious comments on here, especially when the OP can read them herself, after coming here for advice.

Germanshepherdsmum

The OP has not said she was a stay at home mum (or had any other caring responsibilities) Cabbie, nor that she paid the ‘married women’s stamp’, just that she has chosen to take low paying jobs despite a decent education and has for the last 13 years been working under a zero hours contract paying wages below the NI threshold because she likes her colleagues, which she wants to continue. This is not comparable to your position.

I fail to see how the OP's situation differs from that of anyone else who does not pay tax and NI in their own right, but relies on a husband or partner to do so and sees it as covering both of them. One has chosen not to work at all, and the other to work in a low-paying job. Neither has paid NI.

Obviously someone who has a well-paid partner will have a more comfortable life financially, but unless the law changes so that one part of a couple can pay tax and NI on behalf of the other (ie twice as much as they already pay) the non-working partner is making no individual financial contribution to society. We all look after our children and homes, however little or much we earn, and regardless of whether we also go out to work, so saying that doing so compensates for paying tax just doesn't wash, and the option for a working spouse to pay double tax is not available, and is unlikely to become so, as far as I can see.

I don't understand how when I say that it is 'nasty', when you are now saying the same thing yourself. Bear in mind that I also said that IMO it is not 'wrong' for anyone to take advantage of the current system, just that I thought it ironic that anyone doing so could be judgemental about the financial circumstances of others in the context of the thread on which I commented.

If you have children, a stamp is paid for you because of the years you have not worked or p/t work..



You can find out what pension you will receive online....

The OP has not said she was a stay at home mum (or had any other caring responsibilities) Cabbie, nor that she paid the ‘married women’s stamp’, just that she has chosen to take low paying jobs despite a decent education and has for the last 13 years been working under a zero hours contract paying wages below the NI threshold because she likes her colleagues, which she wants to continue. This is not comparable to your position.

Delila

I feel really uncomfortable about some intrusive and judgemental questioning of the OP’s life and work history on this thread. Fortunately most people have responded with genuinely helpful advice.

Agreed, please do not think you have to justify yourself OP

May I ask if you are on the deeds yet?

I believe you said you're not on the mortgage, but are in Hs will. I'm on deeds, in wills and trusts, but wills can be changed if I'm not mistaken.

I'd be on the deeds today, soonest possible.

The rest, I have very little understanding of, no patience to figure out. I'd call for help to sources other posters told you of.

You will not get advice about your options in a broader sense from those people, just about options for NI contributions.

GSM, I don’t find this far fetched.
I know it is not the same scenario, but I certainly did not consider long-term implications of being a stay at home mum or of paying married women’s stamp.
It was not until I was back in teaching and my school brought in an IFA to give us a talk and individual advice that I became aware of the reality of my situation. It sounds as though the OP ‘s employer has not offered that support. She has woken up and taken the initiative now.

I feel really uncomfortable about some intrusive and judgemental questioning of the OP’s life and work history on this thread. Fortunately most people have responded with genuinely helpful advice.

Maria59

BlushingSheep one option is to telephone the NI contributions department I have always found them very helpful and willing to provide the best advice

Thank you. That's not an option I'd thought about but it makes perfect sense.

Germanshepherdsmum

I believe, Doodledog, that the poster in question had a well paid husband who paid quite enough to cover both. OP’s household income appears to be low.

So moral imperatives are dependent on income? Not in my world they aren’t.

Teacheranne

You need 35 years contributions to get the new state pension. You have 17 years already and can still work for another 15 years so could have 32 years by the time you retire/are eligible. That means you need to pay additional contributions for three years.

I think when I got details of my years, it listed the years I had not paid enough and gave the amounts I needed to pay which were not the same as it depended on how much I’d actually worked during the year. My short years were because I went part time from age 57 to 60 when I retired early, I am now almost 66 so will be getting my pension next month. I did not pay any extra contributions as I already had the 35 years needed.

It isn’t true that we all have to pay in for 35 years. It depends on when you first started paying NI contributions. It’s different for all of us.

Same side as usual growstuff. I simply wouldn’t point anyone in the direction of that easy option, especially someone who wants to continue a zero hours job rather than earn enough to pay tax and NI.

I believe, Doodledog, that the poster in question had a well paid husband who paid quite enough to cover both. OP’s household income appears to be low.

BlushingSheep one option is to telephone the NI contributions department I have always found them very helpful and willing to provide the best advice

Germanshepherdsmum

growstuff

BlushingSheep What you could do is sign on as unemployed. You won't actually receive Universal Credit because you'll have to declare your earnings and your household income is almost certainly too high. You'll have to go through a few hoops too. The huge advantage is that you'll be credited with NI contributions, which will count towards your pension (but not other benefits).

It might be useful to get yourself an appointment with Citizens' Advice, who can go through all your options with you.

Good on you for recognising there's a problem and starting to do something about it!

One is credited with NI contributions just by signing on, whilst not receiving UC and choosing to continue to work under a zero hours contract which pay one below the NI threshold rather than take a job which pays above the threshold? Words fail me. I presume you think that’s equitable growstuff. I don’t.

I didn't make any judgement, but that's how the system works.

PS. Did you get out of bed the wrong side this morning?

Germanshepherdsmum

NI is ‘supposed to’ cover healthcare as well as pensions OP, though of course it doesn’t cover the cost. I assume you’ve not had to use the NHS in all these years of not paying in, doing a job because you like the people and admitting that’s what you want to carry on doing. Not to mention not paying any tax.

When I made a similar point to a different poster the other day, you accused me of being nasty.

NI is ‘supposed to’ cover healthcare as well as pensions OP, though of course it doesn’t cover the cost. I assume you’ve not had to use the NHS in all these years of not paying in, doing a job because you like the people and admitting that’s what you want to carry on doing. Not to mention not paying any tax.

growstuff

BlushingSheep What you could do is sign on as unemployed. You won't actually receive Universal Credit because you'll have to declare your earnings and your household income is almost certainly too high. You'll have to go through a few hoops too. The huge advantage is that you'll be credited with NI contributions, which will count towards your pension (but not other benefits).

It might be useful to get yourself an appointment with Citizens' Advice, who can go through all your options with you.

Good on you for recognising there's a problem and starting to do something about it!

One is credited with NI contributions just by signing on, whilst not receiving UC and choosing to continue to work under a zero hours contract which pay one below the NI threshold rather than take a job which pays above the threshold? Words fail me. I presume you think that’s equitable growstuff. I don’t.

@Doodledog
It's feeling like I should make up any shortfall, if I can, and bring myself up to date once this money comes in.
Also, I need to think seriously about my current situation and income and investigate other, more consistent, work. I don't want to, but I need to.
Ironically, I'll have to wait until the money comes in before I can afford to consult any sort of IFA. Citizen's Advice might be a good starting point, as I believe you mentioned.
I found it all too easy to be blasé about the whole thing as it was so far off, not something I should even have to worry about. Suddenly it's all got a bit serious.

From that screenshot it is clear that you are not going to get the full pension, even if you do pay back the years, so it is important that you do so now, in order to maximise the amount you can get.

With a mid-five-figure sum coming in, you have further options too; but pensions are complicated, so you really need specialist advice. It is almost always better to invest in a pension, because of the tax relief, but I don't know if this applies when you are not a taxpayer - that's the sort of thing an IFA could tell you.

Germanshepherdsmum

Is that a screenshot of an online form you’ve completed?

It's the page from the pensions section of the Gov.uk website. It's telling me the amount of pension it focasts I'd be getting if nothing changes, based on contributions so far.
I'm not sure I've actually worded that very well, hope it makes sense.

MawtheMerrier

growstuff

Maw I feel that you're being harsh. The OP has begun to take control and has asked for advice. It would appear that she's already acted on some of it by checking her current situation, which is a start. She now has decisions to make. Quite honestly, she'd be foolish to act without question based on some anonymous comments on the internet.

I don’t mean to sound harsh, but realistic.
OP is young enough and in good enough health - unlike many - to do something about it and many helpful suggestions have been given.
Wringing one’s hands and worrying about 15 years hence is not, as my mum would have said, going to get the baby bathed. There is no certainty that OP’s DH will predecease her, nobody knows what the future will bring, but I do know we only get one shot at this life and if we don’t make the best of it, we can’t be surprised by the outcome. It would be a different matter if OP was coming up to retirement age, or unable to work through ill health.
Another ‘Bon mot’ from my schooldays is “Fail to,prepare, prepare to fail”.

She's not wringing her hands. She's asking for help from people who might know more about the system than she does.