Cope Serps and all that jazz
Tony_J
Forumite 
Trying to get my head round state pension and opting out. My state pension forecast (that I will be able to start getting in a little over a year) shows £190.17 per week. I also see a COPE estimate £55.31 per week.
1987 to 1995 I was in a DB pension from which I will soon be getting an income (aged 65). 1995 to 1998 no private pension earning reasonably good income for the time (+30k). 1998 to now in DC schemes (3)
I think the COPE will be part of the
DB pension, but that is only 6k per year, how could I check I’m getting the
correct amount.
More curious is that my state pension forecast is slightly higher than new state pension. Could this be for 1995 to 1998 when I assume I was paying full NI contributions. If so how is it calculated.
Thanks
Replies
2. You're under transitional arrangements, given your year of birth. See https://www.barnett-waddingham.co.uk/comment-insight/blog/contracting-out-and-new-state-pension/
Loads of threads on this topic if you need more reading - use the search box above to narrow down to your area of interest.
Ignore the COPE amount. The DB pension will be based on the scheme rules. So use those to check what you are entitled to.
And remember the period you paid less NI than most people had to with fondness!
It would be nice to be able to calculate my state pension entitlement for myself to be sure its correct; but I'm guessing from replies so far it would be quite a challenge
This means that your pension is slightly higher than a full NSP. and indicates that your "starting amount" was higher than a full NSP.
Your COPE was used once only in establishing your "starting amount" at 6/4/16.
Your starting amount was the higher of
Old Rules
NI years/30 (max) x £119.30 (Full Basic) + ( Additional State Pension - Deduction for Contracting Out).
New Rules
{NI years/35 (max) x £155.65 (Full NSP)} - Contracted Out Pension Equivalent.
Since that time the amount pf your SA that was equal to a full NSP has revalued each April under the "Triple/Double Lock" and the balance by CPI in the previous September.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/state-pension-fact-sheets/contracting-out-and-why-we-may-have-included-a-contracted-out-pension-equivalent-cope-amount-when-you-used-the-online-service#:~:text=Pension Equivalent amount.-,The Contracted Out Pension Equivalent ( COPE ),had not been contracted out.
The Contracted Out Pension Equivalent (COPE)
The pension you get from your workplace or personal pension scheme for the periods you were contracted out, should include an amount that, in most cases, will be the equivalent of the additional State Pension you would have got if you had not been contracted out. This is your Contracted Out Pension Equivalent (COPE) amount.
An estimate of your COPE will be shown if you use the online Check your State Pension service or if you request a State Pension Statement through the post. The COPE amount is based on your National Insurance contribution record up to 5 April 2016 used to calculate your Starting Amount for the new State Pension. The COPE estimate shown in your statement is based on April 2016 State Pension rates.
If you were a member of 2 or more contracted out schemes, the COPE amount shown is based on all your schemes and covers all the years you were contracted out.
We will not know the exact amount your scheme will pay you as a result of contracting-out as it will depend on the actual rules of your private scheme, and possibly any investment choices you may make.
Presumably when you left the scheme you were given a "Statement of Deferred Benefits" showing
Pre 88 GMP
Post 88 GMP
Excess.
Your scheme booklet should indicate how your benefits have revalued in deferment and how they will increase in payment.
Write to DWP and request full calculation?
See
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/79394659/#Comment_79394659
I've had a quick look at the link and will read through more carefully to understand the logic.
As a matter of interest does anyone know if the state pension calculations provided are ever/rarely/sometimes/often inaccurate
But, thinking about it, (apart from the married women who didn't receive the right amount based on their husband's contributions, which is currently being addressed) I don't recall any posts on these boards from people who had been given the wrong pensions.
Even a case a couple of years ago, in which a man was given several KXs of arrears, to great hooha from the press, wasn't 'wrong'. The chap had simply not claimed his pension for whatever reason.