will i inherit any of my late husbands state pension?

BooJewels

Thanks for the update @vickyholly - it will depend if your husband qualified for this additional 'protected payment' as to whether you get the extra and I don't know how that happens, so just wait for the letter.  I was told that I probably wouldn't get anything either, but it turned out that I did. 

Do some sums, the voluntary contributions may well be worth it - each extra year of NIC you pay secures you an additional pension amount per week of a bit over 5 pounds (at current rates, it goes up next month and will continue to do so) - so even if you pay a few years, it might be worth it.

ETA:  you have time on your side - so there's no immediate hurry - things will seem very different in a year or two - it's still early days and very raw still.  Just keep it on the back burner to address in the future.

uss_tish

@vickyholly thanks for the update and good luck with the pension investigation. Assume you know that you may be entitled to Bereavement support payments?
https://www.gov.uk/bereavement-support-payment

vickyholly

uss_tish said:

@vickyholly thanks for the update and good luck with the pension investigation. Assume you know that you may be entitled to Bereavement support payments?
https://www.gov.uk/bereavement-support-payment

Thanks, yes i am claiming that

vickyholly

Morning, If anyone else is looking at the maths, to work out if its worth making voluntary NI contributions to make up state pension, Here is a great link to help that i just found https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/savings/state-pensions/

kipsterno1

vickyholly said:

Morning, If anyone else is looking at the maths, to work out if its worth making voluntary NI contributions to make up state pension, Here is a great link to help that i just found https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/savings/state-pensions/

Sorry for your loss. At this time the last thing you need is all the red tape that comes with bereavement. 

There are lots of posts on the pensions board about paying voluntary NI. Its good that you are aware of what is required. You still have a long time to make the shortfall up.

You may be eligible to NI credits due to the age of your daughter if you are claiming child benefit. 

badmemory

The additional pension goes up by CPI & not by the 2.5%.  So sometimes goes up by nothing but this April 3.1%.  So not by the triple lock.

molerat

BooJewels said:

Thanks @molerat - I got that it's half of what he qualified for above basic state pension - what I didn't get told was how he qualified for the extra, as a recent pension forecast didn't mention it.

At April 2016 a calculation was made under both the old and new pension systems, the higher of the 2 being used as the new pension starting amount.  Some, mainly those that were in reasonably paid jobs with no final salary pension scheme so receiving a high S2P, would have already achieved a higher pension under the old system than the new maximum pension.  That difference is the protected payment.

BooJewels

Ah thanks @molerat - that makes sense now.  I don't think he was in an especially reasonably paid job - but he didn't have a work based pension either - so that might explain it.  Is the protected payment a perpetually fixed amount (i.e I stand to get £10.31/week according to the quote I got from DWP) - or will that rise in line with inflation-ish, as does the SP?  I suspect it might be a fixed amount from your explanation.  Or, it might even reduce?

I can't just find the letter I got to check if it mentions this, but the SP forecast he got a couple of years ago does state his pension as a chunk more that the basic was at the time and we weren't sure quite why.

molerat

BooJewels said:

Ah thanks @molerat - that makes sense now.  I don't think he was in an especially reasonably paid job - but he didn't have a work based pension either - so that might explain it.  Is the protected payment a perpetually fixed amount (i.e I stand to get £10.31/week according to the quote I got from DWP) - or will that rise in line with inflation-ish, as does the SP?  I suspect it might be a fixed amount from your explanation.  Or, it might even reduce?

I can't just find the letter I got to check if it mentions this, but the SP forecast he got a couple of years ago does state his pension as a chunk more that the basic was at the time and we weren't sure quite why.

That part will increase annually with CPI, not the triple lock as is used on the main body of your pension.