Redundancy and NI

OldBeanz

I am a 59yo Civil Servant and likely to be made compulsorily redundant next year as my job is disappearing.
I reckon I will be ok with a pension of £20k but want to ensure that I maximise my SP and make NI payments between then and hitting 66.
I assume I will get nothing from HMG if I sign on but am restricted in the jobs I can take as I care for my aged father (he can do most things for himself but..). I work from home which allows me to care at present.
Any help gratefully rec'd.

p00hsticks

OldBeanz wrote: »

I am a 59yo Civil Servant and likely to be made compulsorily redundant next year as my job is disappearing.
I reckon I will be ok with a pension of £20k but want to ensure that I maximise my SP and make NI payments between then and hitting 66.
I assume I will get nothing from HMG if I sign on but am restricted in the jobs I can take as I care for my aged father (he can do most things for himself but..). I work from home which allows me to care at present.
Any help gratefully rec'd.

Will you be claiming your pension as soon as you are made redundant ? If so, I don't believe you will be entitled to any JSA payment (even the 26 weeks contribution based), although you would continue to get NI credits by signing on.


However, from what you say I suspect that you may struggle to jump through all the hoops required to show you are available for and actively seeking employment.


It might be worth you looking into claiming carers allowance for looking after your father - I'm not an expert but I understand that this is available if you earn less than £100 a week and spend at least 35 hours a week caring, and will both pay an allowance and give NI credits.


You should get a statement of your NI record
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/ni/intro/check-record.htm#5


Under the new 'flat rate' pension rules coming in in 2016 you need 35 years NI contributions for a full state pension.


However, I believe that some deduction will be made from the pension for any of those years which are 'contracted out'. I don't think that they have yet decided on the fine detail that would allow you to decide if it was beneficial for you to buy additional years NI between when you leave work and when you reach State Pension Age.