My Mum Wants To Buy 12 Years Pension But Has Never Worked

ChloeRadshaw

Hi All,

I was hoping someone could give us some advice please.

My mum is 59.5 and has never worked as she had 9 children. We have just found out that she would be entitled to only 60% of my fathers pension but recently you could buy 12 years pension which together with 18 years home responsibility would entitle her to a full pension.

My mum is not well at the moment anyway but I think it gives peace of mind if she knows she has a pension and I have said that I would be happy to pay the amount for her.

However the fact that she has never worked means that she cannot buy ANY pension - Is that correct?

If she worked now for one year till she became 60.5 - Would that help?

Answers much apprciated

jennifernil

Your Mum is the same age as me. As far as I understand, at the moment a woman requires 39 years of contributions for a full pension, and a certain percentage have to be actual working years. So I think you are correct that she cannot buy any pension.

The 30 years of contributions only applies to those reaching 60 in 2010 or after I think.

At the moment my husband gets an extra amount for me and soon, when I reach 60, it will be paid directly to me. It is 60% of his basic pension as you state.

If your mum is widowed, I think she will get more than that as she will get some of any additional state pension your dad has. And after that there is Pension Credit to bring her up to a certain level of income if required.

There is quite a lot of info on the Pension Service website, have you checked it out?

EdInvestor

ChloeRadshaw wrote: »

.. but recently you could buy 12 years pension which together with 18 years home responsibility would entitle her to a full pension.However the fact that she has never worked means that she cannot buy ANY pension - Is that correct?

Yes, under the current rules, you need 10 years of paid NI contributions from working to get any pension at all.

ChloeRadshaw

EdInvestor wrote: »

Yes, under the current rules, you need 10 years of paid NI contributions from working to get any pension at all.

Thse need to be working NI as opposed to 'bought' NI?

glitterkitty

call 0845 915 5996. Thats the Deficiency Notice Helpline. They will be able to look into your mum's account (your mum needs to call, but can pass the phone to you after security) and see if she can pay back any years at all.
There is a possibility, as class 3 is just for pension purposes. Someone could pay class 3 for their whole life and get a state pension from it... they wouldnt be entitled to any benefits though.

EdInvestor

ChloeRadshaw wrote: »

My mum is 59.5 and has never worked as she had 9 children. We have just found out that she would be entitled to only 60% of my fathers pension but recently you could buy 12 years pension which together with 18 years home responsibility would entitle her to a full pension.

Unfortunately your mum will retire this year under the old rules, which require 39 years NI for the full pension, not 30 (that only applies for people retiring after 2010).

HRP years would reduce her requirement to 21 years of paid contributions. So if she bought 12 years, she would still not get as much as the 60% she is entitled to on the basis of your father's contributions. .