National Insurance contributions for Primary Carers - how to claim/transfer

molerat

I have run the numbers from the full details already posted and I reckon he could get all 11 pre 2016 years due to his low COPE,   31 x 47p extra of new pension makes up for the COPE and around 2p S2P. The 7th extra pre 2016 year only adds £3.71 to the starting amount but once past that it is plain sailing to 35 years.  Combined with the 3 post 2016 held only £1.80 is needed for a full house. All assuming of course that all those possible child benefit years are unfilled.

If no joy on the credits front he needs another 11 with 9 future years available so the 2 missing post 2016 years will need looking at before April 2024 although the final year is only worth £2.80.

Albermarle

p00hsticks said:

tabath said:

molerat said:

And the number of years pre and post 2016 ? Very important as to what it is worth you claiming for. Although with only a £14.83 COPE additional pre 2016 years could swing the starting amount to the new calculation.

I've got 3 years post 2016 and 24 before

In that case, filling in any gaps for at least six pre-2016 years would boost your pension - more than six may or may not have any effect.

Note that the window for paying voluntary NI contributions going back for more than six years closes at the end of this tax year (April 5th 2023) (there was a temporary extension allowing you to go back to 2006 when the new state pension was introduced). Therefore you need to move quite fast to see if you can get your credits transferred as if you can afford it paying to make up some of the missing years is a very good fallback option if you cannot get the credits.

Speak to the Future Pensions Centre for advice on which gaps are worh buying

https://www.gov.uk/future-pension-centre

(or post back here if you have no luck getting the credits, giving full details of your forecast and NI record and people will be able to help)

OP - If you have to buy missing years, then you should do so. It will be the best financial deal you will ever do.
For a cost of just over £800 per year, you will get a guaranteed fully inflation linked ( in theory anyway) for life of just over £5 a week. To buy that sort of pension in the open market, would cost around £6000/£7000.
So in the end if you are missing a couple of years, it is easily and cheaply resolved. 

tabath

Thanks for all your advice. I will wait to hear back off them from the forms I filled in about transfering the missing years. I just think the NI credits for looking after children should be given automatically to the parent who isn't working - it should be obvious enough as my ex-wife would have been paying full NI!! Case of sexism if you ask me!! 

If that doesn't happen I suppose I will have to buy a couple of year which in my current financial situation isn't going to be easy to afford.

I will report back on the NI credit transfer application if only for the info to be here and available for any other male who finds themselves in this station.

t0rt0ise

tabath said:

Thanks for all your advice. I will wait to hear back off them from the forms I filled in about transfering the missing years. I just think the NI credits for looking after children should be given automatically to the parent who isn't working - it should be obvious enough as my ex-wife would have been paying full NI!! Case of sexism if you ask me!! 

If that doesn't happen I suppose I will have to buy a couple of year which in my current financial situation isn't going to be easy to afford.

I will report back on the NI credit transfer application if only for the info to be here and available for any other male who finds themselves in this station.

It's not sexism because there are plenty of cases where the man claims the child benefit and the woman loses out.

p00hsticks

tabath said:

 I just think the NI credits for looking after children should be given automatically to the parent who isn't working - it should be obvious enough as my ex-wife would have been paying full NI!! Case of sexism if you ask me!! 

Playing devil's advocate, one could equally argue that it should be the one in a couple who's not working who puts in the claim for child benefit, in order to give them some money. The credits follow the money....

NannaH

Some people just can’t or won’t take responsibility for their inaction, it’s been easy enough to find out information online for the past 20 years or more.