How many years NI contribution for a state pension.

seven-day-weekend

I was told (by the Pensions people) that you were credited with NI Contributions if you were at University.

CIS

Nope - only on certain approved training courses - unless you where either given benefit credits or earned enough.

PRE1975

Regulation 10, NI (Contributions) Regulations 1969

Class 1, 2 or 3 credits could be awarded for periods of full time education, approved training or apprenticeship if the insured person was excepted from liability to pay a contribution. The rules were different depending on the age of the student or trainee. The class of credit awarded depended on whether the trainee was normally employed, self-employed or non- employed.

Married women with a valid married woman's non-paying or reduced rate election can not be awarded credits for approved training.
Under 18 years of age

Fulltime students, unpaid apprentices and people on approved training who were under 18 years old were awarded Class 1 credits.
Disabled students

Students at schools for the disabled could receive approved training credits up to age 21 years.
18 years of age and over

Students and trainees aged 18 years and over, could be awarded credits if:

* The training was not intended to last for more than one year, or the training was provided under the Disabled Persons (Employment) Act 1944, in which case the permitted course length was at the Secretary of State's discretion, and
* The trainee normally needed to have paid or been credited with 104 credits as an employed or self-employed person in respect of the previous three years, disregarding any period of national service, and
* Without the training, the person would become or remain unemployed.

POST 1975

"Class 1 credits" which are available for all benefits can be awarded for full or part weeks during which a customer is undertaking training approved by the Secretary of State.

The training must

* be 20 hours or more per week and:
* not be expected to last for more than 12 months, and
* not be connected with the customer's normal employment.

The customer must:

* be aged 18 before the start of the tax year containing the course, and
* not be a married woman with a valid married woman's reduced rate election.

If the course spans two tax years and the customer is not 18 years old during the first tax year, then they may only receive credits for the weeks or part weeks of training undertaken during the second tax year.

If the customer is disabled they are entitled to credits for a Government funded course which is:

* only 15 hours a week or more, and
* lasts for longer than a year, or
* a Guide-Dog for the Blind training course.

seven-day-weekend

Well, that's most odd. My figures do not add up unless I count that two years.

Does going to University in the 1980s, receiving a student grant and being 34 years of age make any difference?

Xbigman

Milarky wrote:

As they say in the 'INTEL' community these days, it has ''the earmarks of GB. ''[Remember the '£100 for help with council tax bills' fiasco where payments based purely on an age threashold were sent out to little old ladies in nursing homes too.] Life is too short to do it right so they'll do it NuLabour-rite.

I must jump in here and say I think GB got this dead right. The Govt. are obsessed with everything being fair and keep coming up with beaurocratic nightmares with huge numbers of 'what ifs' and mountains of paperwork. IE CSA, child tax credits, pension credits... and others. 'Play the system and win, play fair and lose' is my opinion.
So a few OAP's in care homes had a council tax rebate. Far better that than either means testing or having to claim it. Both those methods just mean the ones who really need it never seem to get it. I know at least one old gent who considers the pension credit as charity and he actually tried to stop recieving it.

My point of view now is that the more 'flat rate' stuff we can come up with the better. Child support, pensions, tax. It can all be done as flat rate and the few people who benefit unfairly are outweighed by those who benefit and the extra costs of those unfair payments are more than covered by reducing beaurocracy.

As this is a pension thread, a flat rate pension per person based on residency would sort out an awfull lot of problems. Everyone would know exactly where they stood and could plan accordingly. Would it be dearer? Probably. It would depend what you set the pension at. If you set it at the current levels of basic pension it would be cheaper. Set it at the basic pension + pension credit (where the turner report wanted it) and it is dearer.
Regards



X

Sorry for the rant but I just put my eye drops in and they leave a horrid taste in my mouth.

CIS

Well, that's most odd. My figures do not add up unless I count that two years.

Does going to University in the 1980s, receiving a student grant and being 34 years of age make any difference?

Are you remembering that between 16 and 18, you automatically get those 2 tax years credited to you as 'juvenile credits' ?

seven-day-weekend

CIS wrote:

Are you remembering that between 16 and 18, you automatically get those 2 tax years credited to you as 'juvenile credits' ?

Yep: I was at work full-time then in the 1960s , I have counted these years.

Oh well, that's what my pension forecast said (the amount of years /HRP) .

I thought my HRP was two years short and when I rang I asked if it could be because I was at University receiving a grant during that time and they told me that was where the extra two years was.

Now, that would make my HRP two years less than otherwise, but where have the two years come from....must go and check....

seven-day-weekend

:T

Just remembered; I went through a period of signing on and receiving credits.

This must be the missing years.

Thanks again for helping me to clear it up :beer:

CIS

No problem, which ever agent told you that you get credits for university is a p*ll**k, obviously standards have gone down hill since I left

I am not suprised though, when I left, basic training had gone down from 3 weeks to 1 week.

seven-day-weekend

CIS wrote:

No problem, which ever agent told you that you get credits for university is a p*ll**k, obviously standards have gone down hill since I left

I am not suprised though, when I left, basic training had gone down from 3 weeks to 1 week.

Standards probably have gone down - I know in the two years since I left my last job in Town Planning, the person who replaced me does not (and will not) do or know half that I did.

He won't even go on site and I don't see how he can even do a job in Planning Enforcement without doing so.

Having said that, the new enforcement manager will not go out on site either!

My colleague, who knows far more than the enforcement manager about Planning legislation in his 25 years of doing the job, was not allowed to apply for the manager's job as he had not got the requisite paper qualifications. I hear the new manager did a great presentation at his interview though - extremely helpful when dealing with irate householders and their neighbour's unauthorised extension, or an unauthorised change of use in a city centre shop!

The old ones are definitely the best.

Sorry - rant over and sorry for going off-topic.