Contracted out confusion - can anyone please explain the impact on my pension forecast?

Tunstallstoven

Hi MSEers

After the helpful nudge in the recent MSE Newsletter, I've been checking my national insurance and pension situation.  I'm in my mid-40s and checking on .gov has given me the following details:

- Estimate based on NI record up to 5 April 2022 = £157.70 a week
- Forecast if you contribute another 6 years before... = £185.15 a week

My NI record shows 26 years of full contributions.

There were a couple of years way back when when I was in a job and contracted out.  Yet my NI record shows "full year".  Do I need to deduct them from the total?  Or if it says full year is that good enough to count it as an actual full year? 

Many thanks

p00hsticks

For State Pension purposes  a 'full year' is a 'full year' whether contracte otu or not.

You don't need to exclude them.

You just need to make sure that you earn, get creditted for or make voluntary contributions for those six years going forward to get you up to the maximum.

Tunstallstoven

That's great news!  Thanks for confirming so quickly.  It was when I read the bit that said this that I started to worry:  

"Important. If you were 'contracted out' of the additional state pension before 2016, topping up may not help... You're more likely to have been contracted out if you worked in the public sector. You can check by looking at a pre-2016 payslip or P60 – if the NI contributions line has D, E, L, N or O next to it, you were contracted out."  


I was also going to ask about another couple of years and whether they might be a problem.  When I click "view details" it says:

"National Insurance credits: 19 weeks

These may have been added to your record if you were ill/disabled, unemployed, caring for someone full-time or on jury service."

But as above they also say "Full Year" so I presume the same applies and they are nothing to worry about?  

Thanks again - I really appreciate your help.