Topping up state pension

sanderson59

A friend of mine has told me that he saw a recent news article that said that if you contracted out part of your state pension (ie SERPs) you unable to buy/ top up your state pension. Is this true ?. 

pinnks

Not true.  It may mean that filling pre-2016/17 gaps in your NI record will not improve your lot but that is a different issue.
 

xylophone

A friend of mine has told me that he saw a recent news article that said that if you contracted out part of your state pension (ie SERPs) you unable to buy/ top up your state pension. Is this true ?. 

No, it isn't.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/79961024/#Comment_79961024

p00hsticks

sanderson59 said:

A friend of mine has told me that he saw a recent news article that said that if you contracted out part of your state pension (ie SERPs) you unable to buy/ top up your state pension. Is this true ?. 

What they may be referring to is the fact that those who were contracted out prior to 2016 may need more years to get to the maximum new State Pension amount of £185.15, or even, if they reach state pension age soon after 2016 may only get an amount closer to the old basic state pension amount of around £142. 

TabbyBee

I think I read the same article as your friend and, having been contracted out for almost my whole working life, I really thought there would be no point in my topping up. When I finally got through to the Future Pensions line, it turned out that I could top up and would be much better off if I did. I mentioned to the guy on the helpline that I'd believed there'd be no point paying for extra NI years in my case and he said 'That's why you need to talk to us. Everyone is different.' So glad I kept ringing!

Antleshow

Hello
I am due to receive my state pension in September and have queried making voluntary NI contributions to make up missed/incomplete years. I have received a letter from DWP detailing how much it would cost and the subsequent uplift in my state pension. I then contacted HMRC to arrange for payment and they gave me a reference number and told me I could send payment by direct debit, online or by cheque. I want to pay online; however when I have viewed www.gov.uk/pay-voluntary-clas-3-national-insurance, it states, in the Overview "Pay Online" that I should have an eighteen digit reference number beginning with 60 my reference number is only 12 digits and doesn't start with 60.

I have tried ringing HMRC to clarify but haven't yet got through to them.

Can anyone help?

MrPathalogicallyOptimistic

I think I remember Martin Lewis saying earlier this year that the topping up state pension process was going totally online at some point. Was that just wishful thinking or is there a date when it might happen? 

Blueshark911

I paid voluntary top ups of my state pension but after 10 weeks nothing was showing on my record. I contacted HMRC after an hours wait I got through but the agent couldnt find my payment!. She reffered it to another department and told me to ring back after two weeks. This will mean another hours wait to get through. I was also told the new system is going to be trialed in April 2024. HMRC cannot cope, they have no idea of customer service but are on the case when you owe tax.

MeteredOut

MrPathalogicallyOptimistic said:

I think I remember Martin Lewis saying earlier this year that the topping up state pension process was going totally online at some point. Was that just wishful thinking or is there a date when it might happen? 

He definitely said that on one of his shows; i recall it was "towards the end of the year" based on what he'd been told by HMRC.