Married persons pension.

kidmugsy

jamesd wrote: »

Your wife would get only about half of that rate because she reaches her state pension age after the flat rate system arrives.

Just for clarity, OP: your wife would get about half that rate if she deferred herself. But if you die first, she'd "inherit" most of your Extra Pension (in my wife's case I reckon she'll inherit a bit more than 90%).

peter_the_piper

Thanks everyone for the help. we are keeping up her payments to NI at the rate they ask for.
She has been self employed but has had to give up .
I'm not entitled to pension credit due to private pensions and some self employed work by me.
She did work as an Ambulance driver for 5 years, paying into their scheme. She is about to fill in the appropriate claim form to see how much pension she will get and when.
I will probably pack up work this year, 69 is old enough for 7 day weeks.
I'll probably think about pension credit then as things will well be a mite tight.

kidmugsy

peter_the_piper wrote: »

I will probably pack up work this year, 69 is old enough for 7 day weeks.

Good grief! Hats off, sir.

sleepless_saver

peter_the_piper wrote: »

Thanks everyone for the help. we are keeping up her payments to NI at the rate they ask for.
...
She did work as an Ambulance driver for 5 years, paying into their scheme. She is about to fill in the appropriate claim form to see how much pension she will get and when.
..

As she is paying voluntary NI contributions, do as others have suggested and get a state pension forecast for her as well. She may well find she has more years than she thought (I know I did!), and only 30 years are required for full state pension.

kidmugsy

sleepless_saver wrote: »

As she is paying voluntary NI contributions, do as others have suggested and get a state pension forecast for her as well. She may well find she has more years than she thought (I know I did!), and only 30 years are required for full state pension.

But 35 for the new-style state pensions.

sleepless_saver

kidmugsy wrote: »

But 35 for the new-style state pensions.

So it is, I can't keep up with the speed of change!:o

SeekTruth

kidmugsy wrote: »

But 35 for the new-style state pensions.

This is only necessarily true for people with zero NI contributions paid or credited before April 2016. For those that go through the transition process some will find they reach the 'full' new-style pension (or more) with fewer than 30 years of contributions, while others will fail to reach the 'full' level even with more than 35 years.

jackyann

If she is unable to work, is she entitled to any benefits which may also include NI credits

jamesd

Don't wonder about the 30 or 35 years. Just get a state pension statement for her. What happens then is that once the new system comes in she will get a foundation amount calculated that is the higher of the current and new rules amounts. If that amount is above the new flat rate she won't gain from buying more years, if it is below she will. A statement now won't be perfect but it'll give us some idea and might be enough to say that continuing to pay at the self-employed rate is a good move.

For yourself you will be able to buy more state pension if you want to. If you have the savings available. But deferring is likely to be a better deal for you, offering more of an increase for the same amount spent. Whether either is a good idea depends on your life expectancy, and general health. At age 70 it'd cost you £779 to buy an extra £1 a week of state pension, which would increase with inflation. If you do have money you could use for this sort of thing we could work out which offers the best deal if we knew how much your state pension is now.

It'll also be necessary to wonder about Pension Credit and other means tested benefits if your combined income will be low enough. If you'd qualify for that then it might not be worth buying any more pension.

xylophone

I'll probably think about pension credit then as things will well be a mite tight.

But tight enough for pension credit? See


http://www.ageuk.org.uk/Documents/EN-GB/Factsheets/FS48_Pension_Credit_fcs.pdf?dtrk=true

She did work as an Ambulance driver for 5 years, paying into their scheme. She is about to fill in the appropriate claim form to see how much pension she will get and when.

A deferred pension with the NHS Scheme?

In view of her ill health, is she entitled to take this pension now under ill health rules?

http://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/Pensions/2688.aspx

"If you are a deferred member and you become too ill to undertake regular employment you may apply to take your pension early without reduction. Your benefits will not be enhanced. Complete form AW240 to request consideration of entitlement to early payment of deferred benefits due to ill health."