60 with 60k and what to do...?

Daliah

badmemory said:

Daliah said:

I am afraid, nobody gets Pension Credit unless they, and any partner, are at least state pension age, which at present is 66, but for someone who is 60 now will be 67. Reaching 35 NI years does not entitle you to SP. Only state pension age does.

PIP doesn't entitle anyone to payments towards their state pension I think so it is still vital that her entitlement is checked & topped up if necessary.  So 6 years to obtain paying currently & several that can be bought now.  Absolutely vital!  Check it out today!  You can go on line & check how much she is entitled to so far.  Can someone please post the link?

If she is in receipt of benefits, then surely she would get NI credits (which is something entirely different from pension credit).

I agree, she should get her state pension forecast as a matter of urgency.

Once that is available, and once we know whether she indeed gets / got the NI credits she has been / is eligible for, we can comment further. Or she can take the details to Citizens Advice, who should be able to give her detailed personal guidance regarding her state pensions.

badmemory

I think (but I'm sure someone can confirm) that you only get NI credits for benefits based on income which PIP is not.

Spoonie_Turtle

badmemory said:

I think (but I'm sure someone can confirm) that you only get NI credits for benefits based on income which PIP is not.

This is correct.  Incapacity Benefit (as it was), ESA, JSA, IS, UC, etc.  Definitely not PIP or DLA.

Edit to add: she could do what's colloquially known as a credits-only claim for ESA, which is to claim ESA, go through the assessment and have class 1 NI credits on the basis of limited capability for work if she meets the criteria - but that will only give her the remaining years until state pension age.  For the previous missing years she will most likely have to buy contributions.

If you want some guidance on what an ESA claim for credits entails, OP, please ask over on the benefits board.  She would not be entitled to ESA payments as she would not meet the NI contributions conditions (it's based on the previous two full tax years).

jimpwarsop

Consider premium bonds.

Impossible to lose, apart from inflation and, on £40k,  £25 a few times a year.

Of course a distinctly small chance of a decent win, I work on a 1% return.

Albermarle

So she can withdraw 'as and when' from a pension then I take it due to her age?

That is correct . Tax free 25% , the rest taxable but she would only pay tax if her overall taxable income was above the personal allowance , currently £12570 .

Note for later years that the state pension is taxable income .

whenever

Definitely get the pension forecast and pay voluntary NI for any missed years where there's a shortfall. The best investment going. In terms of helping others could a small deposit loan or gift help some younger members of the family get into owning instead of rented? It would make a huge impact in their financial lives and be more useful than an inheritance further down the road. The timing of such help makes a massive difference.

Granny_98

As an over 66 female myself your priority must be sorting out your mums state pension, get a forecast and buy as many years as possible if she is short, and as one person has suggested apply for ESA to hopefully get NI credits for the remaining few years. You can no longer rely on a husband's NI contribution for credits, that has been scrapped! Should your mum not have a full state pension at 66 then any pension top up (income related) would be considerably reduced by any savings she has left over a certain amount (which I am unsure of) and she would have to live on her savings. If you have a local branch of Age UK, or even Carer's UK there are benefit advisors there as well as CAB. Look after your mum x

JustAnotherSaver

OK this will have to be short & sweet as I'm away with only my phone this weekend. 

My mum has just text me though to say she's done her forecast through the supplied link earlier (thanks) and it says she's due:

£179.60 per week
£780.94 per month

She also said she's sure she received documentation stating that she'd be entitled to "some" of my dad's state pension providing a) she doesn't remarry or b) she doesn't live with someone before she hits state pension age.


Hope this helps. Does it sound right? Can you make sense of these figures? 

JustAnotherSaver

Just had a look here: https://www.gov.uk/new-state-pension/what-youll-get

Looks like she qualifies for the full amount. No buying extra qualifying years required. 

P1Fanatic

I'm new to this but pretty sure the surviving spouse doesn't get any of the deceased partners state pension. They maybe entitled to their partners credit years etc to boost their own pension if its not already at the full amount. But sounds like you mum is already at the full amount so that wouldn't apply.