Older than my Husband

McKneff

xylophone wrote: »

60 is the new 40, so they say....:D

In my dreams :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

margaretclare

McKneff wrote: »

In my dreams :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

I was told, 70 is the new 40!!

My GP, the darling man, told me 'you're only young yet'. Bless him!

Actrually when I got married for the first time in 1957 it was assumed that everyone would change to the so-called 'small stamp'. It was just 'what you did'. I did so, but very soon discovered my error when I wanted to claim unemployment benefit. My friends put me straight, and I changed back. Best thing I ever did.

Archergirl

Things were different then, I wasn't allowed to join my firms pension scheme until I was 40. If you were 'staff' you could join sooner but I was a manual worker.

margaretclare

Archergirl wrote: »

Things were different then, I wasn't allowed to join my firms pension scheme until I was 40. If you were 'staff' you could join sooner but I was a manual worker.

Paying NI contributions at full or reduced rate was one thing. Being in the firm's pension scheme was different.

atush

Indeed. It is quite scary how many here confuse state, private and even personal pensions.

margaretclare

McKneff wrote: »

I wouldnt have laughed MargaretClare, I just wish I had had someone to show me the way when I was 17. I would gladly have paid full stamp had it been explained better to me, but hey ho, My OH and I manage very well, a little later on in life with 25 years of working age to go I suddenly found more sense and joined by company pension scheme and encouraged my OH to start one so its probably evened out over the years to be honest.

I had been working for the then Ministry of Labour and National Service (this is the 1950s we're talking). I left, got married, moved to a different part of England. That marriage failed after a few weeks (although we subsequently got back together) but I went back home, and it was when I went to where I used to work and met my friends and former colleagues who explained it all to me in words of one syllable. When I went into the other office and asked to change, no one explained, not even a leaflet,which at least would happen now. It was just a widespread assumption that it was 'what you did'. When we got back together I was a student nurse and I was a bit more mature, a bit more worldly-wise by then.

seven-day-weekend

margaretclare wrote: »

I was told, 70 is the new 40!!

My GP, the darling man, told me 'you're only young yet'. Bless him!

Actrually when I got married for the first time in 1957 it was assumed that everyone would change to the so-called 'small stamp'. It was just 'what you did'. I did so, but very soon discovered my error when I wanted to claim unemployment benefit. My friends put me straight, and I changed back. Best thing I ever did.

I paid the 'small' stamp for a year, realised what a no-brainer it was , and changed back.

I couldn't join a company pension scheme however until I was 46 and went back to full-time work. I managed to get ten years into the Local Government Pension Scheme before I gave up work to go and live in Spain eight years ago. Wish I could have paid more!

We're now back in the UK and have remunerative part-time work as Home Sitters, but there is no pension scheme with that, LOL!

I have been drawing my State Pension for two years and will draw my Local Government Pension sometime in the next two years.

dzug1

whitesatin wrote: »

I don't remember ever being offered the option to pay the smaller stamp
.

Depends when you married and whether you then worked. The right to a smaller stamp for new brides was abolished in the 70s and those who already had it lost the right if they were out of the job market for 2 (??) years

margaretclare

dzug1 wrote: »

Depends when you married and whether you then worked. The right to a smaller stamp for new brides was abolished in the 70s and those who already had it lost the right if they were out of the job market for 2 (??) years

From memory, it was April 1978. Any woman who married after that date had no choice but to pay full NI contributions. Those working and paying the 'small stamp' were allowed to continue. You can imagine, the uproar there'd have been if the option had been removed for all, although I personally think that would have been better.