pension

nova_dee

Hello

I arrived in the UK 2006, I am a citizen now and intends to stay here for good. My question is, I am now 51 years old and by the time I retire at age 65, I will only have paid 25 years NI contribution. As far as I know, I should have 35 years contribution to qualify for a "proper" pension. I tried using DWP's pension calculator and it showed I can only get 65 pounds a month and Im pretty sure it wont be enough to support me.

My question is, is there a way to increase my pension, like paying in or am I wrong to think that the amount stated above is all I am entitled to?

Thanks for any information.

tacpot12

You might be able to increase your pension by paying additional National Insurance contributions. You need to request a National Insurance statement, which will tell you if you can pay any voluntary Class 3 National Insurance contributions.

Failing that, you can pay into a personal pension.

p00hsticks

nova_dee wrote: »

Hello

I arrived in the UK 2006, I am a citizen now and intends to stay here for good. My question is, I am now 51 years old and by the time I retire at age 65, I will only have paid 25 years NI contribution. As far as I know, I should have 35 years contribution to qualify for a "proper" pension. I tried using DWP's pension calculator and it showed I can only get 65 pounds a month and Im pretty sure it wont be enough to support me.

My question is, is there a way to increase my pension, like paying in or am I wrong to think that the amount stated above is all I am entitled to?

Thanks for any information.

Firstly , if you are only 51 then under the current legislation your State Pension Age will be 67, not 65, so you have an opportunity to get a couple more NI years in.

You are correct in saying if you don't have the full 35 years you will only get a proportion of the full amount (currently £155.65) although I would expect it to be higher than £65 if you work up to retirement age - 25/35ths of £155 is around £110.

Although there is an opportunity to buy additional NI years to fill in any gaps in your record over the last six years, it sounds as if you don't have any since you arrived in the UK.

As well as means tested benefits such as Housing Benefit and Council Tax Support, there is currently Pension Credit which is a meas tested benefit specifically available for those over state pension age who are on a low income.

The State Pension is really only a safety net and the government encourage people to also put additional money aside into "private" pensions - there are attractive tax incentives to do this, and if you are employed, then your employer will often contribute too. If your employer isn;t currently offering you a pension scheme then they will soon be legally obliged too. If you are self employed, or want to pay in to something separate to your employers scheme, then you can simply pay into a scheme as an individual.

To fond out more about private pensions you are prbably better off re-posting on the "pensions and retirement planning" board

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/forumdisplay.php?f=19

teddysmum

Do you not have some pension rights from your own country ?

xylophone

Do you not have some pension rights from your own country ?

See https://www.gov.uk/new-state-pension/living-and-working-overseas

Is your employer offering a pension scheme? This will become compulsory - see
https://www.gov.uk/workplace-pensions/about-workplace-pensions

nova_dee

xylophone wrote: »

See https://www.gov.uk/new-state-pension/living-and-working-overseas

Is your employer offering a pension scheme? This will become compulsory - see
https://www.gov.uk/workplace-pensions/about-workplace-pensions

Thanks for your reply, but sad to sayif I gave up my original nationality, I wont be able to claim my pension anymore. But Im going to check again with my employer to see what they offer. Thanks again.

nova_dee

teddysmum wrote: »

Do you not have some pension rights from your own country ?

Not anymore unfortunately as I gave up my original nationality/citizenship when I applied for british citizenship.

nova_dee

p00hsticks wrote: »

Firstly , if you are only 51 then under the current legislation your State Pension Age will be 67, not 65, so you have an opportunity to get a couple more NI years in.

You are correct in saying if you don't have the full 35 years you will only get a proportion of the full amount (currently £155.65) although I would expect it to be higher than £65 if you work up to retirement age - 25/35ths of £155 is around £110.

Although there is an opportunity to buy additional NI years to fill in any gaps in your record over the last six years, it sounds as if you don't have any since you arrived in the UK.

As well as means tested benefits such as Housing Benefit and Council Tax Support, there is currently Pension Credit which is a meas tested benefit specifically available for those over state pension age who are on a low income.

The State Pension is really only a safety net and the government encourage people to also put additional money aside into "private" pensions - there are attractive tax incentives to do this, and if you are employed, then your employer will often contribute too. If your employer isn;t currently offering you a pension scheme then they will soon be legally obliged too. If you are self employed, or want to pay in to something separate to your employers scheme, then you can simply pay into a scheme as an individual.

To fond out more about private pensions you are prbably better off re-posting on the "pensions and retirement planning" board

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/forumdisplay.php?f=19

Thanks for your reply.

I do intend to work until my retirement age and would prefer, hopefully, that I would need not to claim any benefits. Perhaps, preferred step is to verify my employer's pension scheme and to look for personal private pension.

Thanks for the info. I do apologise for getting lost in the thread, I am not good with forums