Q. about qualifying for state pension

simonineaston

Hi there, you pension experts! As I near state pension age, I'm trying to find out more about my circumstances. I used the government website recently to see how much state pension I'm entitled to. I have 40 full years of of NI payment. The webpage shows 2 figures, £164.35, which will be paid if I continue to pay NI until my spa, and £152.39 based on my NI record to date. I thought the qualifying number of NI years was 30, so why the two different figures?

xylophone

Is a COPE shown?

simonineaston

Hi xylophone, yes, you're right - I've just spotted the bit about contracting out & I'm off to have a read about it.

[Deleted User]

Hi,


is this any help?

Dazed_and_confused

I thought the qualifying number of NI years was 30

It is currently 35 years. But only for those starting on their State Pension journey since April 2016.

You are under the transitional rules so are entitled to £152.39.

With the possibility of increasing this to £164.35 with (three?) additional qualifying years.

p00hsticks

See post 3 here
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5966902/contracted-out-and-cope
for details on how your individual starting amount was calculated when the new state pension was introduced in April 2016.


Each NI year after that will add 1/35th of the new maximum amount to that starting figure until either the maximum is reached or you entere the tax year in which you reach state pension age, whichever is earlier.

simonineaston

Thanks everyone, the mists of confusion are starting to clear!