State pension forecast & weirdness in gaps!

cfw1994

Ahhh, that does sound precisely right: well explained!
Yes, she has exactly 30 years pre-2016 'old scheme'.
Mystery solved!

youth_leader

Thanks for posting about this, I looked at my pension forecast last night and have 37 full years up to 2010.  I'm a 63 year old widow and get my pension in 2023.  From what you've said, I should buy from 2016 onwards? 

jem16

youth_leader said:

Thanks for posting about this, I looked at my pension forecast last night and have 37 full years up to 2010.  I'm a 63 year old widow and get my pension in 2023.  From what you've said, I should buy from 2016 onwards? 

Assuming it’s less than the full new state pension amount of £175.20 then yes. What does your forecast say exactly?

youth_leader

Hello Jem, it says as at 5 April 2020 my forecasted pension is £150, and shows with additional contributions it could be £165 upwards to £175.  I am very lucky that I also have a pension from my late husband's company, and a small Teacher's pension.  I'm not sure whether to invest in the State Pension. 

jem16

youth_leader said:

Hello Jem, it says as at 5 April 2020 my forecasted pension is £150, and shows with additional contributions it could be £165 upwards to £175.  I am very lucky that I also have a pension from my late husband's company, and a small Teacher's pension.  I'm not sure whether to invest in the State Pension. 

I would say it's very good value as payback is within 3 to 4 years depending on tax status. I'm certainly doing it.

Just one thought though - do you look after grandchildren even for a short period of time? If so then you can get NI credits.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-insurance-credits-for-adults-who-care-for-a-child-under-12-fact-sheet/specified-adult-childcare-credits-fact-sheet

youth_leader

Thank you, when I gave up my Child Benefit due to my late husband being a high earner I hadn't realised how it would affect me in later life, and here I am.  Thank you for the link, unfortunately an older mother so no grandchildren.  I haven't got the £8K for the ten years I'm missing, only £4K, not quite sure which years to pay!  I'm being quoted an average of £800 per month.

jem16

youth_leader said:

Thank you, when I gave up my Child Benefit due to my late husband being a high earner I hadn't realised how it would affect me in later life, and here I am.  Thank you for the link, unfortunately an older mother so no grandchildren.  I haven't got the £8K for the ten years I'm missing, only £4K, not quite sure which years to pay!  I'm being quoted an average of £800 per month.

Only years from 2016/17 will make any difference to your state pension so no need to pay for 10 years.

The Child Benefit change only happened in 2013 and at that point NI Credits were only for children up to age 12. As you have 37 years anyway it wouldn't make any difference unless you were still eligible from 2016 onwards?

p00hsticks

youth_leader said:

Thank you, when I gave up my Child Benefit due to my late husband being a high earner I hadn't realised how it would affect me in later life, and here I am.  Thank you for the link, unfortunately an older mother so no grandchildren.  I haven't got the £8K for the ten years I'm missing, only £4K, not quite sure which years to pay!  I'm being quoted an average of £800 per month.

From what you say you shouldn't need to buy all ten missing years - each year will increase your pension by around £5 up to the maximum £175. If your forecast tells you that your current position is £150, then you only need to purchase / get creditted with five more years to reach the maximum.

I'm not sure what you mean by 'I'm being quoted an average of £800 per month' ? Quoted by whom for what exactly ?

youth_leader

Thank you so much I've been holding on to 'Future Pension' for about thirty minutes now.  The £800 per month is the cost for the NI contributions I need to make each year.  I can buy the five years from the savings then save out of my pension to buy the next ones.  

xylophone

I'm being quoted an average of £800 per month.

I am not exactly sure what you mean by this.

You say that you had 37 years at 2010 - do you mean at 2020?

How many full years did you have at 6/4/16? Did you continue to pay (or be credited ) with NI after that date?

The calculation done at  6/4/16 was

NI years/30 x £119.30 + (Additional State Pension - Deduction for Contracting Out).

(NI years/35 x £155.65) - Contracted Out Pension Equivalent.

Your "starting amount" was the higher of the two.

What is shown as your COPE on your forecast?