Womans Pension

shug119

My wife is 48, she worked for 4 years before we got married, we have 3 children 27,19,17.
She has worked part time for 14 years, but has only payed a small stamp.
She gets money taken from her wages into the company pension (TESCO). She was told this was compulsary.
I have been told if she pays a big stamp she will get a better state pension.
Also how do you work out any short fall, and can you buy extra big stamps.
Cheers Shug.

seven-day-weekend

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/MoneyTaxAndBenefits/PensionsAndRetirement/StatePension/DG_10014008

You can get a State Pension Forecast online from this site which will tell you how much shortfall there is, and how many years you can buy back. If she has Home Responsibilities Protection for bringing up a family she may eb entitled to more than you think.

jem16

She would get a better pension had she paid the big stamp. Your best course of action would be to contact the pension service.

http://www.thepensionservice.gov.uk/home.asp

noh

Are you sure she is paying reduced rate NICs? From the info you give I would doubt she is. What year did you marry?
See here for info.http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/faqs/women_reduced_rate.htm

Nigel

jem16

seven-day-weekend wrote: »

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/MoneyTaxAndBenefits/PensionsAndRetirement/StatePension/DG_10014008

You can get a State Pension Forecast online from this site which will tell you how much shortfall there is, and how many years you can buy back. If she has Home Responsibilities Protection for bringing up a family she may eb entitled to more than you think.

Unfortunately the pension forecast is not available whilst they update their systems to take in the new changes. May take up to a year apparently.

jem16

noh wrote: »

Are you sure she is paying reduced rate NICs? From the info you give I would doubt she is. What year did you marry?
See here for info.http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/faqs/women_reduced_rate.htm

Nigel

It's possible. She would need to have been married for 30 years - that would have made her around 18. Her eldest child is 27.

margaretclare

The option to pay what was called 'married women's contribution' which only covered industrial injuries, ceased in April 1978. Anyone who got married after that didn't have the option. A working woman who happened to have got married after that date will have paid the same contributions as everyone else. This also means that even if she gave up work to look after children, she qualifies for Home Responsibilities Protection, which means that the years she wasn't at work are credited to her.

Your eldest child was born in 1980 - when did you actually get married?

It's possible that her Tesco occupational pension is very well worth having, but she needs to ask her Human Resources Department for details about the terms and conditions of the scheme. I would certainly not agree to having money deducted unless I knew exactly what it was for and what I would get at the end of it!

Margaret

dunstonh

Tesco's old final salary scheme is certainly worth having and their current money purchase scheme (for newer employees) has employer contributions and is very good.

The old scheme was contracted out. I cannot recall if the newer one is but it is a possibility it is an option.

Is the confusion perhaps over the second state pension and contracting out which could impact on the NI contributions being paid?

jem16

My wife is 48, she worked for 4 years before we got married

Looking back at he OP's post I don't think she can be paying the small stamp.

To qualify for the married woman's stamp she needs to have been married before April 1977 which would make her 18.

According to her husband she worked for 4 years before they got married which means she would have started work at age 14.

noh

jem16 wrote: »

It's possible. She would need to have been married for 30 years - that would have made her around 18. Her eldest child is 27.

yes but the HMRC site says

"Your right to pay at a reduced rate ends:

• If you divorce;
• If your marriage is annulled;
• If, since 6 April 1978, there are two consecutive tax years during which you have not:
  - paid, or been treated as having paid, Class 1 NICs; or
  - been self employed at any time;"

The lady in question has probably not worked for at least two consecutive years so even if she had elected to pay reduced rates that right would have since ended. In short to be paying reduced rate now she would have had to have been married before 6 April 1977 then elected to pay the reduced rate and to have worked ever since with breaks of less than 2 years.

Nigel

shug119

Hi, thanks for all the replys.
We got married in 1979.
28 years married.
Wife worked 16 to 20.
Went back to part time work between 1st and 2nd/3rd, children.