Understanding my state pension forecast and COPE

WackieO

I had a look at my state pension forecast yesterday and it says I will be due £185.15 a week on my birthday in 2032 and that I have 38 years full contribution and that I cannot improve my forecast.  It also mentions I have 11 years left to contribute.  

Also there is a COPE figure of £37.10 a week.  I have a pension, now handled by Reassure, for when I contracted out of SERPS - is the value £37.10 a week supposed to be the amount I will be paid by that policy? 

Also does it make a difference if I contribute or don't contribute - I'm currently working part time and under the threshold for NI contributions. 

Thanks in advance.  

molerat

The £37.10 is a guesstimate of how much that pension should be paying you.  It could be more, it could be less.  In other words a total meaningless figure ! It was only ever used in real life to calculate your April 2016 starting amount.

Your forecast will state how much you have accrued at April 2022 or 2021.  What are ALL the figures and caveats on the forecast, the top line is only a forecast based on doing certain things.

jimi_man

Hi.

You can ignore the COPE figure for all practical purposes. It was a calculation done on 6/4/16 to determine your starting amount of state pension following the changes as you fall under the transitional rules. It has no bearing on how much private of State Pension you'll subsequently receive. 

If you've reached the full amount then that's it. If you earn over the threshold then you'll contribute by default as NI contributions also pay for many other things - NHS for example. If you don't earn enough then it doesn't matter either as you've reached the full amount.

Albermarle

I have a pension, now handled by Reassure, for when I contracted out of SERPS - is the value £37.10 a week supposed to be the amount I will be paid by that policy? 

The pension will be a DC pension, which is just a pot of money that is invested in the financial markets . So it should have gone up in the last few years and now probably down somewhat this year. Once you reach 55/57 ( depends on your current age ) you can start to take money from it if you want , although normally best to leave it alone if you do not need it.

The income can be taken in various ways, but the actual amount is not guaranteed in any way .

Audaxer

WackieO said:

I had a look at my state pension forecast yesterday and it says I will be due £185.15 a week on my birthday in 2032 and that I have 38 years full contribution and that I cannot improvement my forecast.  It also mentions I have 11 years left to contribute.  

 

You are in a very good position, and don't need to do anything if you have reached the maximum State Pension forecast with only 38 years of full contributions after being contracted out. I and many others with well over 40 years contributions are still paying voluntary contributions to get to the maximum. 

If you cannot improve on the forecast, that means that even if you stopped work tomorrow and didn't pay any more NI, you would still get the maximum SP in 2032.

molerat

Audaxer said:

WackieO said:

I had a look at my state pension forecast yesterday and it says I will be due £185.15 a week on my birthday in 2032 and that I have 38 years full contribution and that I cannot improvement my forecast.  It also mentions I have 11 years left to contribute.  

 

You are in a very good position, and don't need to do anything if you have reached the maximum State Pension forecast with only 38 years of full contributions after being contracted out. I and many others with well over 40 years contributions are still paying voluntary contributions to get to the maximum. 

OP has not really put enough meat on the bones of that top line figure to show if that is actually the case.

dunstonh

Also there is a COPE figure of £37.10 a week.  I have a pension, now handled by Reassure, for when I contracted out of SERPS - is the value £37.10 a week supposed to be the amount I will be paid by that policy? 

The Reassure pension will have a fund value.   That value would have changed over the years based on the investments you held and the investment decisions you or your adviser have taken.    If you had 100 people who received the same amount of contracted-out rebates as you did on the same dates, each picking their own investments/provider, etc. then you would have 100 different fund values.    

When you draw on the pension, its like a bank account in that if your fund value is £100,000 and you draw £1,000 then the value falls to £99,000.  Whereas another person may draw £500 and their value will fall to £99,500.  With investment returns, you hope that they cover the withdrawals but if you draw too much, they won't.

So, the £37.10 has no bearing on what your former protected rights pension (the bit from contracting out) is worth or what it could provide you.

xylophone

I had a look at my state pension forecast yesterday and it says I will be due £185.15 a week on my birthday in 2032 and that I have 38 years full contribution and that I cannot improvement my forecast.  It also mentions I have 11 years left to contribute.  

What exactly does your forecast say?

Like this?

https://www.which.co.uk/money/pensions-and-retirement/state-pension/your-state-pension-forecast-explained-a24r12y9jt41

Or this?

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/72626700/#Comment_72626700

jem16

molerat said:

Audaxer said:

WackieO said:

I had a look at my state pension forecast yesterday and it says I will be due £185.15 a week on my birthday in 2032 and that I have 38 years full contribution and that I cannot improvement my forecast.  It also mentions I have 11 years left to contribute.  

 

You are in a very good position, and don't need to do anything if you have reached the maximum State Pension forecast with only 38 years of full contributions after being contracted out. I and many others with well over 40 years contributions are still paying voluntary contributions to get to the maximum. 

OP has not really put enough meat on the bones of that top line figure to show if that is actually the case.

Although the OP does say that the forecast says he/she cannot improve his/her forecast. It only says that when the maximum has been reached. 

Rollingonandon

Sorry to gatecrash. If on gov gateway site it tells me I will have a cope payment. Does this mean I contracted out and I have a pension somewhere. I finished working for this company in the early 1990s. I’ve had no contact from them. So I contact them to clarify and give them my details. Thanks.

molerat

Rollingonandon said:

Sorry to gatecrash. If on gov gateway site it tells me I will have a cope payment. Does this mean I contracted out and I have a pension somewhere. I finished working for this company in the early 1990s. I’ve had no contact from them. So I contact them to clarify and give them my details. Thanks.

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