Qualifying years threshold for state pension

sleepymara

Could anyone direct me to the actual year by year thresholds for achieving a "qualifying year" for a state pension?

I worked part time from 1996 to 2001 at roughly the equivalent of this year's threshold amount and I'd like to find out if those 5 years count as "qualifying years".

Many thanks in advance.

hugheskevi

Look at "Lower Earnings Limit" which is the qualifying threshold at:

http://www.ifs.org.uk/ff/ni.xls

sleepymara

Thank you for your link.

I'm still confused re the exact definition of a qualifying year.

Do I have to earn the lower weekly threshold x 52 in the year? Or as long as I've worked at least 1 week at above the threshold and hence paid some NI contributions does that count? Or is the definition something else entirely?

seven-day-weekend

As far as I know, as long as you have earned enough in the year, and paid the NI, it does not matter if it is not a full year.

I know that I worked from April-September in 2004 and I had earned enough (I think it was it was about £4250 at that time) for it to count as a qualifying year towards my State pension. I rang the Pensions people and they told me this.

However I am not an expert, this is personal experience only, so someone please correct me if I am wrong.

sleepymara

seven-day-weekend wrote: »

As far as I know, as long as you have earned enough in the year, and paid the NI, it does not matter if it is not a full year.

It is this often mentioned "enough" that I am trying, without success, to define.

seven-day-weekend

I think there is an lower earnings limit for a particular year and that it doesn't matter whether you earn it in one week or 52. I don't know what the amount is for this (2010-2011) tax year but I'm sure someone will.

Sucker_for_sweeties

Hopefully someone better informed will be along shortly...but for 2009/10 the LEL was
Annual 4,940.

It will have changed every year, so maybe HMRC has some old tables etc so you can see the applicable years for yourself.

Sorry not much more help

This looks like the weekly LEL for some of the years you are looking for, annual would be x52

posted linky instead...table went mad
http://search.hmrc.gov.uk/kbroker/inldrev/inldrev/search.lsim?sr=0&nh=20&cs=iso-8859-1&sc=ir&ha=7&mt=0&qt=LEL+1996

seven-day-weekend

If the OP gets a Pension Forecast, it will say how many qualifying years they have.

Get one here:
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Pensionsandretirementplanning/StatePension/StatePensionforecast/DG_10014008

Also if they speak to someone on the phone they should be able to tell them which years are qualifying years.

s4mmy

Is there a website or contact number where we can check our contributions please?

jamesd

Yes, once you have a state pension forecast you can call up the Future Pension Centre and they will be able to tell you for every year that you worked what your taxable income that year was and whether it was a qualifying year.