New State Pension for opted out employees

[Deleted User]

Hi all - I've been looking for an on-line calculator that employees without "full" NI contributions can use, to calculate the "new" state pension but no luck. Is it becasue there are insufficient details yet, or because the calculations are too "hard"? (Surely not!)

Anyone know of one? The kind of thing I'm looking for would have entries for age now, employment status now, number of years of reduced rate contributions etc.

There will be loads of folk within a few years of the state retirement age, or considering early retirement who have been opted out for decades, so I would have hoped that the info would have been easier to find - maybe I'm just looking in the wrong place.:o

Neither Mrs Wild Rover nor I will receive our state pensions for some years, but I'd like to be able to plan ahead even if only a little! We both took early retirement a couple of years ago but are under state pension age.

WR

molerat

Wait until April 2016 and you will be able to find out from the horse's mouth. If aged 55 you can find out now.

xylophone

Are you both over 55?

You can get your "Foundation Amount" via https://www.gov.uk/state-pension-statement

[Deleted User]

xylophone wrote: »

Are you both over 55?

You can get your "Foundation Amount" via https://www.gov.uk/state-pension-statement

.... tried that, but after 3 questions it just says that I can get one by post.....

Maybe too complex for a computer to work out, this new simplified state pension...

WR

neilvw

Yes it comes by post if you want a statement (over-55s).

I'm well under 55 so when I obtained a State Pension forecast online it gave me my entitlement under the old rules only (after 16 qualifying years out of 30 required).

As stated, in the few months after April they'll send everyone of working age a statement - showing entitlement under the old and new systems. The higher of these will be the foundation amount.

The rules on SERPS and the treatment of contracted-out years in particular are so complicated under both the new and old systems that really you need a personalised statement - available at the moment for over-55s only and it comes by post.

I requested one for a friend recently and it came quite quickly, within a week or so.

greenglide

neilvw wrote: »

As stated, in the few months after April they'll send everyone of working age a statement - showing entitlement under the old and new systems. The higher of these will be the foundation amount.

While there was some talk a year or more ago of everyone being supplied with their Starting Amount there is certainly no intention now. You must also take into account that the Starting Amount at 6/4/2016 will normally not actually be available then as earnings data for the year ended 5/4/2016 will not be available to HMRC until the end of year data is collected and processed.

The number if people who would actually understand what the Starting Amount is and what it is for would also be very small.

Remember that the pension forecast / statement supplying this data was "simplified" to remove the old rules / new rules information people were complaining it was too complex.

bigfreddiel

Actually this will be quite simple based an a few assumptions.

1 You said you took early retirement so you are no longer paying any ni.

2 you were opted out for your working career so paid a reduced stamp.

So far so good.

Get an online forecast even if you have to adjust the end date to just before April 16.

That will be your pension.

Why is that?

Because the calculation under the new rules, post April 16 will give you a vastly reduced amount. During the switchover period which will last many years, you get the higher amount of the two calculations, and that will be the amount calculated under the old rules.

Simples

fj