Early Pension and National Insurance Contributions

[Deleted User]

Pity the OP hasn't been back to give thanks for or comment on the responses and suggestions made by others.

FIREmenow

It's been less than 2 days since their last post and they were given a load of new info to peruse so maybe we shouldn't write them off just yet

jimmyjazz1992

[Deleted User] said:

Pity the OP hasn't been back to give thanks for or comment on the responses and suggestions made by others.

Sorry I have been away tending to parent. I didn't comment on the responses because I couldn't understand most of them! I will have to sit down when I have an hour or two. The responses seemed to make a simple question more muddy. But you are right I should have said thanks for the replies!

So many thanks!

jimmyjazz1992

Many thanks for all the replies. Makes me realise I don't have a clue what anyone is on about really so I need to go back to making a few phone calls. I need an idiots guide to be honest. Trouble is  find that unless you are actually interested in this kind of stuff my brain deletes it asap!

molerat

jimmyjazz1992 said:

Many thanks for all the replies. Makes me realise I don't have a clue what anyone is on about really so I need to go back to making a few phone calls. I need an idiots guide to be honest. Trouble is  find that unless you are actually interested in this kind of stuff my brain deletes it asap!

You don't need to phone anyone.  Your SP forecast will tell everything you need to know, tell us here and we will decipher it for you if you don't understand.  There may be up to 3 different amounts, it may tell you that you cannot improve on that amount or it will state you need x more years contributions to reach the amount. 5 minutes on here is better than waiting an hour on the phone to get the same answer.

xylophone

Many thanks for all the replies. Makes me realise I don't have a clue what anyone is on about really so I need to go back to making a few phone calls. I need an idiots guide to be honest. Trouble is  find that unless you are actually interested in this kind of stuff my brain deletes it asap!

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6517896/early-pension-and-national-insurance-contributions/p2

Have you checked your state pension forecast here?

https://www.gov.uk/check-state-pension

Now answer questions here

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/80699027/#Comment_80699027

jimmyjazz1992

xylophone said:

Many thanks for all the replies. Makes me realise I don't have a clue what anyone is on about really so I need to go back to making a few phone calls. I need an idiots guide to be honest. Trouble is  find that unless you are actually interested in this kind of stuff my brain deletes it asap!

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6517896/early-pension-and-national-insurance-contributions/p2

Have you checked your state pension forecast here?

https://www.gov.uk/check-state-pension

Now answer questions here

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/80699027/#Comment_80699027

Hi there

when you say 'Now answer questions here' do you mean.....

Current weekly £££.pp amount accrued up to April 2023
Number of pre April 2016 NI years full
Number of post April 2016 NI years full
Tax year you reach state retirement
Any COPE amount shown, in a click link in "You've been in a contracted-out pension scheme", if there is one.
Years which show not full and prices

????

Thanks

xylophone

when you say 'Now answer questions here' do you mean.....

Yes, that's right.

jimmyjazz1992

xylophone said:

when you say 'Now answer questions here' do you mean.....

Yes, that's right.

Ok so

Current weekly £££.pp amount accrued up to April 2023 = Difficult as weekly amount changes. I'm salaried and self employed. Also you say 'current' then - 'April 2023'. April 2023 is not current? I must have this wrong.

Number of pre April 2016 NI years full = 31
Number of post April 2016 NI years full = 6
Tax year you reach state retirement = Please define 'Tax year'. I should get my SP in early 2032 if that helps
Any COPE amount shown, in a click link in "You've been in a contracted-out pension scheme", if there is one.
Years which show not full and prices. = No years are shown and please explain 'Prices'?.

But it does say...

'In the past you’ve been ‘contracted out’ of the additional State Pension.
Contracted Out Pension Equivalent (COPE)

Your COPE estimate is £30.44 a week

This will not affect your State Pension forecast.

One other troubling thing is...

2018 to 2019 - Year is not full

You have contributions from

Paid employment: £***.** (my asterisks)

You can make up the shortfall

Pay a voluntary contribution of £***.** (my asterisks) by 5 April 2025. This shortfall may increase after 5 April 2025.

That's all I can find and it took me ages! Like I said please forgive my idiots guide level.

JJ

jimmyjazz1992

FIREmenow said:

xylophone said:

 First check your forecast 

https://www.gov.uk/check-state-pension

What exactly does it say at estimate to 5/4/23?

Will the tax year just ending be a qualifying year?

How many QY did you have at 5/4/16?

And from 6/4/16 to the tax year just ending?

Hi Jimmy, sharing these items above plus your COPE amount would let xylophone and/or others here do the calculation needed to explain how your pension has been worked out.

It is a bit alien if you're not used to it - I've put some screen shots below that might help, I've just obscured personal info where you would see your birthday when you reach state pension age, name etc.

Let us know what it says in the bit highlighted purple in my picture:



If you scroll down that same page, you will see a link to get your COPE amount - click on the link as shown in yellow in the pic below:



Clicking that link sends you to a new page which will give you your COPE amount - let us know what that is:



Then, go back to your forecast and click the link to view your national insurance history, on your history page count up the years that say they are full, from when you were a nipper, right up to and including 2015 to 16 - this is how many qualifying years you have prior to 6/4/2016, which xylophone asked for - let us know that figure.

Lastly, there are two more things that your pension forecast doesn't know yet but you can estimate, which might add a further two full years to what you already have:
- for the 2023-24 tax year, which is just about to end, are you likely to get a full NI year. If you are paid monthly then if your March payslip says your NI payment total for the year to date you could tell us that to see if it's likely to be enough.
- because you are planning to retire in September of the 2024-25 tax year, you will have had 5 or 6 months of pay in that year, so might have earned enough for that to also qualify as a full year - if you are happy to tell us an estimate of what you will earn in those 5/6 months in total we can make a guess. 

Note: There is a really common misconception that everyone now needs 35 qualifying years to get the full state pension, but most people are in the transition period having worked both before and after 2016 when the new state pension came in, so everyone's calculation is different depending on their age and work history. I am a rare unicorn who actually does need 35 years on transitional rules - I have 20 now and need 15 more, but that is not the norm and you could need more or fewer years than 35. If you provide the info above someone can explain your personal calculation.

Apologies for the long post, I hope that helps a bit.

Hi there

I have only just managed to read your thorougher posting and (will need to read again). That said it is becoming clearer because of what you posted.