Is £144 pw the maximum State Pension

hardwicky

If you pay NI for the required 35 qualifying years I will get the flat £144 pw State Pension. Is there any way to increase the State Pension by paying more NI or paying for more than 35 years? Or will any extra NI payments count for nothing or State Pension be reduced if you have a personal pension as well (which I do).

I've paid my 35 years and don't have to pay any more as I am not earning. But I will pay extra years if it will give me a guaranteed bigger State Pension.

xylophone

You need to read this. https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/181229/single-tier-pension.pdf

hardwicky

xylophone wrote: »

You need to read this.

Thanks. But that gives 106 pages of Government-speak and I can't find what I wanted to know in there.

Can I get more than the new flat rate £144pw by making extra years of NI contributions after I've paid the minimum required 35 years, or by paying more NI than the amount they ask for (the last few years I have been paying around £650 a year).

atush

If you have already paid into S2P, then you may already be above the 144 figure- have you gotten a forecast?

Also, you can increase your pension thru deferral (currently 10.2% for every year deferred) but this is under review so may change.

bigfreddiel

hardwicky wrote: »

If you pay NI for the required 35 qualifying years I will get the flat £144 pw State Pension.

sorry but I have no intention of paying YOUR NI for YOUR pension

cheers

fj

hardwicky

atush wrote: »

If you have already paid into S2P, then you may already be above the 144 figure- have you gotten a forecast?

Also, you can increase your pension thru deferral (currently 10.2% for every year deferred) but this is under review so may change.

What is the S2P? The only things I know of that I have paid are that I have always paid NI contributions.

I think I contracted SERPS or something like that a long time ago, but I cannot remember anything about that now, I just remember something about 'SERPS'.

I have a Personal Pension Plan too. But I am interested in knowing if there is any advantage to paying more than the minimum 35 years NI - will that give me a bigger State Pension than the new flat £144? Or is there another way to increase the proposed flat £144 pw?

atush

State second pension, ie serps.

Get a forecast, it will say how much you have of each.

The only way to increase if you have 35 years, is to defer.

SnowMan

hardwicky wrote: »

What is the S2P? The only things I know of that I have paid are that I have always paid NI contributions.

I think I contracted SERPS or something like that a long time ago, but I cannot remember anything about that now, I just remember something about 'SERPS'.

I have a Personal Pension Plan too. But I am interested in knowing if there is any advantage to paying more than the minimum 35 years NI - will that give me a bigger State Pension than the new flat £144? Or is there another way to increase the proposed flat £144 pw?

If you already have 35 qualifying years then paying voluntary national insurance now isn't going to increase your state pension in any way.

Assuming you reach SPA after 6th April 2016 then your foundation amount at 2016 will be the higher of

a) the state pension you have accrued under the current system (including any additional state pension, i.e. SERPS or S2P, for any contracted-in periods)

b) the state pension under the new system but with a deduction for periods that you have been contracted-out

As the maximum qualifying years that can be taken into account in a) and b) are 30 and 35 years respectively, then increasing qualifying years above 35 does not increase your foundation amount.

Your state pension at SPA will then be this foundation amount (which may be more or less than £144pw).

However if the foundation amount is below £144 pw you will have the opportunity to buy some extra pension in the future of about £4pw for each tax year between 6th April 2016 and your SPA to bring it up to an amount up to £144pw.

(All figures in (roughly) today's terms)

mania112

Someone who has already built up S2P, therefore entitling them to a state pension income greater than £144-a-week, will be allowed to keep this, though they will not be allowed to build up any extra post-2016.

hardwicky

atush wrote: »

State second pension, ie serps.

Get a forecast, it will say how much you have of each.

The only way to increase if you have 35 years, is to defer.

How do I find out my forecast and whether or not I have any SP2?

Also mania112, you say "Someone who has already built up S2P, therefore entitling them to a state pension income greater than £144-a-week, will be allowed to keep this, though they will not be allowed to build up any extra post-2016."

Does this mean there is time between now and 2016 to make payments into SP2 even if I have not until now, and this could increase my state pension above the future flat £144.

xylophone

http://www.scottishlife.co.uk/scotlife/Web/Site/Adviser/TechnicalCentralArea/InformationGuidance/General/TheStateSecondPensionExplainedPage.asp might be of interest.

https://www.gov.uk/state-pension-statement