eligibility for new Class 3a top up?

littlerock

OH is 65 in January 2016 so just misses new minimum pension rate. In fact he is self employed and will still be working full time after he reaches retirement age next January. Is he be eligible to buy an increased pension under the new Class 3a scheme? Or does it only apply to pensions payable under new scheme ie for those who turn 65 after 1st April 2016?

mania112

he is eligible, it's specifically for people who are going to miss the new scheme - ie those who retire before april 2016

xylophone

http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/pensions/article-3202732/How-new-state-pension-TREBLE-income-Women-self-employed-set-benefit-DWP-scheme.html

may be worth a read.

ibizafan_2

I am someone who is eligible, having been born in February 1953. However, I was planning on deferring the state pension for a while as I still work part time. Does anyone know whether deferring is better than making this payment?

kidmugsy

ibizafan wrote: »

Does anyone know whether deferring is better than making this payment?

Yes. Though you could do both, of course.

p00hsticks

littlerock wrote: »

OH is 65 in January 2016 so just misses new minimum pension rate.

Just for clarification - it sounds as if you may have been misled by the lazy journalism surrounding this subject into believing that everyone who retires on or after April 6th 2015 will get a "flat-rate" £155 pension. This is by no means the case and some will get more and some less than this amount during a transition period which will last many years.

littlerock

Talking to OH it turns out his situation is a bit more complicated. He has been self employed for the last 10 years but for 5 years before that he worked for a very small business (4 employees). He was always paid his salary (by cheque) each month and given a pay slip showing deductions. For the last two years he was there the owner was becoming increasingly ill and eventually he sold the business (he was developing Alzheimers) and he died about three years ago. The business still exists and is trading profitably but has been restructed since then and in particular the part OH worked for is now run as a charitable trust.

Anyway looking into his contributions record, turns out the business which employed him although deducting his contributions, in fact did not pass them on to the IR for most of his employment as his NI record shows no payments for three of the 5 years. Not any suggestion OH thinks of dishonesty, just muddle with increasing mental loss of faculties on part of the owner.

Question is does OH have any redress against company today and if so is it even worth chasing it up? Or should he just try and make up short fall from own pocket, in which case how does this work?