Is my mum receiving the correct amount in pension

zedplace

She receives the national pension (basic and pension credits). She receives the minimum amount (if it is variable). Can her pension be subject to my dad's (deceased) national insurance contributions which were substantial as a business owner and employee over nearly 30 years. He passed away over 10 years ago. Can his NI contributions factor into her own pension?

comeandgo

Be careful with what you are doing, if your mum has pension credit, that is worth a lot.  You don’t want to put her just over the threshold to stop all the benefits.

zedplace

comeandgo said:

Be careful with what you are doing, if your mum has pension credit, that is worth a lot.  You don’t want to put her just over the threshold to stop all the benefits.

I understand what you are saying. However, she receives the bare minimum. Not sure on the law, and what it says about what/if and how much the surviving spouse receives based on the contributions of the deceased.

la531983

https://www.moneyhelper.org.uk/en/benefits/benefits-in-later-life/state-pension-death-benefits

I would heed the info above though about the benefits potentially being stopped if you go down this route though.

molerat

It is complicated. A lot depends on when she and her husband reached state retirement.  If under the pre 2016 rules then her pension statement received every year will show exactly how the pension is made up. Pension credit is not so much about the actual extra £s received but more about the extra things she will not have to pay for.  Many on pension credit are way better off than many who are not entitled due to their "higher" income.

zedplace

molerat said:

It is complicated. A lot depends on when she and her husband reached state retirement.  If under the pre 2016 rules then her pension statement received every year will show exactly how the pension is made up. Pension credit is not so much about the actual extra £s received but more about the extra things she will not have to pay for.

They give her the bare minimum. They don't factor anything from my dad's contributions. I a 100% sure about this. Not sure what the law says how much/if anything she should get based on his contributions. Obviously, they will have a record of his contributions going back decades. I have done some googling to get a better picture of what she might (if anything) be entitled to. So far, I haven't come across a site that states anything too clearly, quite ambiguous, in general.

zedplace

la531983 said:

https://www.moneyhelper.org.uk/en/benefits/benefits-in-later-life/state-pension-death-benefits

I would heed the info above though about the benefits potentially being stopped if you go down this route though.

She receives nothing beyond the basic pension, which as far as I know, every citizen receives when they reach the required age. What is there to stop?

la531983

zedplace said:

la531983 said:

https://www.moneyhelper.org.uk/en/benefits/benefits-in-later-life/state-pension-death-benefits

I would heed the info above though about the benefits potentially being stopped if you go down this route though.

She receives nothing beyond the basic pension, which as far as I know, every citizen receives when they reach the required age. What is there to stop?

The extra pension she is perhaps entitled to could be less than the Pension Credit and the other entitlements she receives.

p00hsticks

zedplace said:

la531983 said:

https://www.moneyhelper.org.uk/en/benefits/benefits-in-later-life/state-pension-death-benefits

I would heed the info above though about the benefits potentially being stopped if you go down this route though.

She receives nothing beyond the basic pension, which as far as I know, every citizen receives when they reach the required age. What is there to stop?

No, not every one does receive even the basic pension.

But if they have less than a certain amount of income (currently £201.05 for a single person) and only limited savings  then they can claim Pension Credit
Pension Credit: Eligibility - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

As others have said, this is a very valuable benefit to be getting as not only does it supplement a persons income it also automatically passports them on to a wide range of other benefits such as Housing Benefit, Council Tax reduction, free TV licence etc, Cold Weather payments, help with certain medical expenses such as spectacles and dental treatments, additional cost of living payments etc etc etc ... 

So this is what may stop. If  you push to get your mothers basic pension amount raised and any increase takes her income even a penny over that £201.05 cliff-edge, she would no longer be eligible for Pension Credit and could actually end up considerably worse off. 

Your efforts may be better directed, at least to start with, in ensuring that she is receiving all the benefits linked to that Pension Credit that she is entitled to. 

sheramber

As he was self employed your father would not have paid towards the second state pension or SERPS. which were only available to employees.

But you can contact the Pension Service who will check for you ( on behalf of your mother)

https://www.gov.uk/contact-pension-service

p00hsticks

zedplace said:

She receives the national pension (basic and pension credits). She receives the minimum amount (if it is variable). Can her pension be subject to my dad's (deceased) national insurance contributions which were substantial as a business owner and employee over nearly 30 years. He passed away over 10 years ago. Can his NI contributions factor into her own pension?

To try to answer your original question, it would be helpful if you could tell us;

• Did your father die before or after reaching state pension age ?
• Did / would he have reached state pension age before or after 5th April 2016 ? 
• Did your mother reach state pension age before or after 5th April 2016 ? 
• Exactly what amount is your mother receiving in a) state pension and b) Pension credit ?