OAP Question .

alfmurph

My wife retired august 2020 aged 63 . Getting private pension .
On checking her records she has 48 years full contributions for NHI . And one year she did not contribute 2021 - 2022 and also 2022 - 2023 when record is not available .
Her pension forecast is £180 weekly when she is 66 in april 2023 . Why is she not being forecast £185 weekly . Is being contracted out the problem .
Does retiring early and not paying nhi for last 2 years work against her . We thought you only needed 35 years NHI contributions . 
Also she retired to look after her father who is 90 with severe dementia .
He receives attendance allowance so could my wife claim for the 2 years 2021-2023 for being a carer and get those 2 years added if it will change anything .

dunstonh

Her pension forecast is £180 weekly when she is 66 in april 2023 . Why is she not being forecast £185 weekly . Is being contracted out the problem 

Its not a problem but it could well be the reason.

Does retiring early and not paying nhi for last 2 years work against her .

Yes.   If she worked those two years, she would gain two years under the new state pension qualification that could override her two worst years under previous systems (e.g. contracted out years)

 We thought you only needed 35 years NHI contributions . 

No.  Only those who start building their NI qualifications fully under the new state pension require 35 years.  Your wife has qualification under multiple periods when the qualifying year requirements was different.

Also she retired to look after her father who is 90 with severe dementia .
He receives attendance allowance so could my wife claim for the 2 years 2021-2023 for being a carer and get those 2 years added if it will change anything .

Is she in receipt of carers allowance?

alfmurph

I do not mean claim carer's money just the NHI contribution . She does caring for nothing .
Current nhi amount for 2022 is paid zero .

xylophone

What is the COPE shown on your wife's state pension forecast?

Presumably at 6/4/16 she had some 44 years NI?

Old Rules

£119.30 (Full Basic because she had the max 30 years) + (Additional State Pension - Deduction for Contracting Out).

New Rules

£155.65 (Full NSP because she had the max 35 years) - Contracted Out Pension Equivalent.

Her  Starting Amount (in her case given by the old rules) was less than a full NSP.

She had a number of years before she reached SPA and was therefore able to improve her SA up to but not exceeding a full NSP by contributions or credits for full tax years from 6/4/16 up to SPA.

If her current forecast up to  5/4/22 is £180 a week, it would appear that just one more year's contributions would bring her up to the full NSP.

Linton

She could get her extra £5/week by paying voluntary NI for her missing 2021-2022 year at a cost of £800. A quick bit of arithmetic shows the cost is recovered in extra Sate Pension in 3-4 years after which time it is free money. So it is a very good deal.

Dazed_and_C0nfused

alfmurph said:

My wife retired august 2020 aged 63 . Getting private pension .
On checking her records she has 48 years full contributions for NHI . And one year she did not contribute 2021 - 2022 and also 2022 - 2023 when record is not available .
Her pension forecast is £180 weekly when she is 66 in april 2023 . Why is she not being forecast £185 weekly . Is being contracted out the problem .
Does retiring early and not paying nhi for last 2 years work against her . We thought you only needed 35 years NHI contributions . 
Also she retired to look after her father who is 90 with severe dementia .
He receives attendance allowance so could my wife claim for the 2 years 2021-2023 for being a carer and get those 2 years added if it will change anything .

It isn't a problem, it means she's a winner under the new system.

She paid less National Insurance for a long time and now has the opportunity to pay a (relatively) small amount to add to the State Pension she's already accrued.

If she can find a better investment than paying £800 to add an inflation linked £5.15/week to her State Pension for life please let us know 🙂.

And that £5.15/week could well become £5.67/week from April 2023!

molerat

alfmurph said:

I do not mean claim carer's money just the NHI contribution . She does caring for nothing .
Current nhi amount for 2022 is paid zero .

I meant what is her full pension amount accrued up to April 22.

Silvertabby

Dazed_and_C0nfused said:

alfmurph said:

My wife retired august 2020 aged 63 . Getting private pension .
On checking her records she has 48 years full contributions for NHI . And one year she did not contribute 2021 - 2022 and also 2022 - 2023 when record is not available .
Her pension forecast is £180 weekly when she is 66 in april 2023 . Why is she not being forecast £185 weekly . Is being contracted out the problem .
Does retiring early and not paying nhi for last 2 years work against her . We thought you only needed 35 years NHI contributions . 
Also she retired to look after her father who is 90 with severe dementia .
He receives attendance allowance so could my wife claim for the 2 years 2021-2023 for being a carer and get those 2 years added if it will change anything .

It isn't a problem, it means she's a winner under the new system.

She paid less National Insurance for a long time and now has the opportunity to pay a (relatively) small amount to add to the State Pension she's already accrued.

If she can find a better investment than paying £800 to add an inflation linked £5.15/week to her State Pension for life please let us know 🙂.

And that £5.15/week could well become £5.67/week from April 2023!

She, and others like her (including me) are VERY much the winners under the new pension scheme.

Had it not changed in 2016 our State pensions would have been less than £150 per week.

Albermarle

She should contact these people.
Contact the Future Pension Centre - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
They will be able to tell her exactly how much she needs to pay to get a full pension.
Then she should pay it, as it is excellent value for money.

alfmurph

Have sent e-mail to the future pension centre .
So would she need to pay £800 twice for missing 2 years nhi contributions .
2021-2022 and 2022-2023 .
Thanks everyone who replied . Very helpful .

TadleyBaggie

Just one additional year will add a maximum of £5.29 per week, so very close or up to the current standard max. If it was short, it's unlikely buying a second week would make financially sense.