Pension statement

mazzy

My husband has had a letter with the information about first payment due 19/1/15 and I was a little confused about one element on it and hope someone can explain it.




From 6/4/2002 also based on caring/incapacity £21.59


I can't understand this as he has not been incapacitated or a carer unless it means something else.


He was contracted out into a private pension between 1978-1997 and has a COD deduction of £22.88, I did wonder if this had anything to do with it but realised there is a section about uprated COD increments so guess it has nothing to do with that.

xylophone

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/60319901#Comment_60319901

post 18.

Does the statement not say "if appropriate"?

mazzy

No it just says this
From 6/4/2002 also based on caring/incapacity £21.59
I am really confused by this I did read the link but didn't see how it related to this unless I am just being thick as my husband was never a carer or incapacitated.

xylophone

See http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/+/http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/nic/add-state-pension.htm

If he wasn't a carer etc, then this is just his post 2002 S2P?

If unsure, he can ring DWP and check?

mazzy

Thank you. So if I understand that correctly it could be because he was a low earner, he was on about 14.000 a year. I just wonder why they don't say that on the notification rather than confuse the issue with the carer/incapacity thing.

mazzy

I did ring DWP and they did say it related to low earnings. I asked them if it would make sense to make it clearer on the letter or am I the only one confused by it. They replied they get loads of calls about it but no one seems to want to change the layout of the letter.


I had tried to find out on the internet before posting on here but obviously wasn't asking the right question as I didn't find the information that xylophone pointed in the direction of.


Thanks for that, at least when I phoned DWP I could ask was it concerning low earnings so they didn't think I was completely stupid. I know some of our posts on here must exasperate those of you better informed but I do use Google first to try and make sense of it before I post and do really appreciate anyone taking the trouble to reply.

kidmugsy

mazzy wrote: »

Thanks for that, at least when I phoned DWP I could ask was it concerning low earnings so they didn't think I was completely stupid. I know some of our posts on here must exasperate those of you better informed but I do use Google first to try and make sense of it before I post and do really appreciate anyone taking the trouble to reply.

As one regular opinionator on this forum, I can assure you that I am not exasperated in the least by any enquiry couched as reasonably as yours was. It's the opinionated, entitled, conspiracy-theorist, greedy, loutish twerps who annoy me.

xylophone

Not exasperated at all!

mazzy

This site is such a valuable resource to the less well informed of us. I am surprised that so many people know so little about their pensions, I include myself in that. I was speaking to a workmate today who is in quite a high position and going to retire this year and he was unaware that the contracted out deduction will still apply under the new rules of those retiring in 2016.


We are all in a final salary scheme and most of my workmates had never even heard of COD. My husband retired in December and I am taking early retirement at the end of April so I suppose it prompted me to find out more, understanding it all is another matter.

kidmugsy

mazzy wrote: »

I suppose it prompted me to find out more, understanding it all is another matter.

You bet! The principle of COD is quite reasonable, but the detail is impenetrable to me. I stumbled upon the oddity that, having deferred my state pension, I reported this fact to one of my final salary schemes, which rewarded me with a "pay rise" during the period of deferral.

I think that at one point I grasped the logic, but I didn't make notes that were complete enough, so now it's beyond my ken again. Oh well; "free money".

mazzy

kidmugsy wrote: »

You bet! The principle of COD is quite reasonable, but the detail is impenetrable to me. I stumbled upon the oddity that, having deferred my state pension, I reported this fact to one of my final salary schemes, which rewarded me with a "pay rise" during the period of deferral.

I think that at one point I grasped the logic, but I didn't make notes that were complete enough, so now it's beyond my ken again. Oh well; "free money".

The free money bit is kind of how I felt about this extra money on my husbands pension as I had no idea the additional pension was topped up like this for low earners. He has never earned a great wage although always been employed full time for 50 years, never thought there would be any benefit to that.


We have never had an income higher than £28.000 a year between us, funny how many people think wages in the south of England are good. Not that I am complaining because at least we have always had work. We own our bungalow and have holidays and I feel fortunate that at the moment we still have our health. Dropping down to manage on a pension holds no worries for me as what you have never had you don't miss.