FIREside Chats

elantan

edinburgher said:

elantan said:

Ed and anyone else from Scotland ... Do u claim the 1% back from Scot gov or do u leave it ? is it more hassle than it's worth? 

Gave up after an hour on the phone as it would only have been £15 or so... Perhaps easier if you complete a tax return, which I don't.

Thanks Ed, 

is it just the tax office you phone? would u need to phone every month? i ask as it would be nearly £100 for me a year, not alot but maybe worth it 

edinburgher

I'd just do it once a year. Believe deets are on this page.

Suffolk_lass

Willow1983 said:

Hi Suffolk-lass - soooo do you think if we stop at say 63 we would need to buy the remaining 4 years to get full state pension even though we have no gaps and paid into it for 46 years? 🤔

@Willow1983 I cannot say. What I am saying, is to check your forecast after the end of each year after you stop work to see if your forecast total is below the maximum New State Pension. If it is falling (as mine is, because now I am not making contributions), it is worth you making voluntary contributions for the remaining years. It is worth looking each year, because while one missing year may not impact it, four might, so be prepared to make voluntary contributions for one or more, to maximise your state pension

hugheskevi

Suffolk_lass said:

Willow1983 said:

Hi Suffolk-lass - soooo do you think if we stop at say 63 we would need to buy the remaining 4 years to get full state pension even though we have no gaps and paid into it for 46 years? 🤔

@Willow1983 I cannot say. What I am saying, is to check your forecast after the end of each year after you stop work to see if your forecast total is below the maximum New State Pension. If it is falling (as mine is, because now I am not making contributions), it is worth you making voluntary contributions for the remaining years. It is worth looking each year, because while one missing year may not impact it, four might, so be prepared to make voluntary contributions for one or more, to maximise your state pension

If a full State Pension has already been accrued, as seems to be the case for Willow1983 based on previous comments, then it will remain at the full rate regardless of whether future years are worked or not, or whether voluntary contributions are made or not.

It is still a good idea to keep an eye on things each year as errors do happen at DWP/HMRC so best to keep a careful check.

Willow1983

Thank you both so much - by sounds of what’s happened to Suffolk- lass it would appear you do need to contribute to retirement age 🙁 I will make sure I check it regularly if I’m lucky enough to stop working early.

hugheskevi

Willow1983 said:

Thank you both so much - by sounds of what’s happened to Suffolk- lass it would appear you do need to contribute to retirement age 🙁 I will make sure I check it regularly if I’m lucky enough to stop working early.

It appears Suffolk-lass does not have a complete record. Hence her forecast will say something like (figures just for illustration) you have £150 of State Pension. If you work until State Pension age you will have £175 of  State Pension. If a year isn't worked or credited, and ignoring increases to the rate of State Pension, the next year the forecast will say you have £150 of State Pension. If you work until State Pension age you will have £170 of State Pension.

Whereas you already have £185.15 of State Pension (or possibly even more). So regardless of what you do in future years your forecast will always say that you have full State Pension and cannot improve it any further.

Suffolk_lass

hugheskevi said:

Willow1983 said:

Thank you both so much - by sounds of what’s happened to Suffolk- lass it would appear you do need to contribute to retirement age 🙁 I will make sure I check it regularly if I’m lucky enough to stop working early.

It appears Suffolk-lass does not have a complete record. Hence her forecast will say something like (figures just for illustration) you have £150 of State Pension. If you work until State Pension age you will have £175 of  State Pension. If a year isn't worked or credited, and ignoring increases to the rate of State Pension, the next year the forecast will say you have £150 of State Pension. If you work until State Pension age you will have £170 of State Pension.

Whereas you already have £185.15 of State Pension (or possibly even more). So regardless of what you do in future years your forecast will always say that you have full State Pension and cannot improve it any further.

I do have a complete record with 44 years of (already) accrued State Pension. The benefit of paying to increase is because much of this period (29/30 years) was in an occupational pension scheme where I was opted out of SERPS - so by making voluntary contributions for the missing four years at this end of my (non) working life, it will increase four years worth from the Basic State Pension to "pay into" the New State Pension. 

I note that by not paying for 2019-20 (yet) the amount to pay has increased from the Class 3 rate for 2019-20 to the class 3 rate for 22-23. So paying for 3 years this year will be cheaper than waiting and paying the "today" rate after the end of the contribution year before I reach 66. The risk is that I pay and then die, reducing my estate by over £3k (£1600+ currently) that I have paid out early

hugheskevi

Suffolk_lass said:

I do have a complete record with 44 years of (already) accrued State Pension. The benefit of paying to increase is because much of this period (29/30 years) was in an occupational pension scheme where I was opted out of SERPS - so by making voluntary contributions for the missing four years at this end of my (non) working life, it will increase four years worth from the Basic State Pension to "pay into" the New State Pension. 

A complete record in the context of new State Pension for a transition member means entitlement to a State Pension of £185.15 per week (or more) based on pension already accrued. The number of qualifying years is irrelevant.

gallygirl

@hugheskevi I see you're planning on going to Ushuaia. Have you thought of getting a cruise to Antarctica from there? It´s one of the best things I've ever done - actually THE best. From speaking to a travel agent who was on board (I did my cruise in Feb this year) it's best to book in advance. In the past there were some last minute deals available from the agents in Ushuaia but with two years of cancellations and pent up demand that's unlikely to be the case going forward.

hugheskevi

gallygirl said:

@hugheskevi I see you're planning on going to Ushuaia. Have you thought of getting a cruise to Antarctica from there? It´s one of the best things I've ever done - actually THE best. From speaking to a travel agent who was on board (I did my cruise in Feb this year) it's best to book in advance. In the past there were some last minute deals available from the agents in Ushuaia but with two years of cancellations and pent up demand that's unlikely to be the case going forward.

I've thought about it. By that point, Antartica would be the only continent I would have left to visit.

The main drawbacks are price (but not so much, as can cost as little as £1,200 per person, excl tips, for a two-week cruise) and guilt of trashing the environment, with cruises being destructive at the best of times, and particularly to Antartica Although our traveling will be very environmentally friendly when measured on an average impact per day basis compared to normal holidays, the length of it and inevitability of some flights, boats, cars, etc, along the way means the total impact is still very big.

So whilst I wouldn't rule it out at this point, I think it is very unlikely. I've visited the Arctic quite a few times, as well as Iceland and going across Siberia in winter so I've seen a lot of cold/icy environments, and we'll be going to Galapagos Islands so should get our penguin fix there.