State Pension - odd things in record - HMRC 'checking' contributions and only 34 years required

pjs493

I've recently checked my state pension record for contributions, gaps, and basically to check I'm on target to get my full state pension when I reach retirement age. I'm between 40-45 years old so currently don't plan on paying for any gaps because I expect to contribute for the required number of years before I reach state retirement age. There are a few gaps where I don't have a full year of contributions but this is mostly due to times when I've been in full time education and part time employment (so evidently didn't work every single week of the tax year) and a period when I spent a few years living overseas. 

I spent several years in the late 00s/early 10s self employed and completed my tax returns during that period. For the most part, my period of self employment show full years, but two years right in the middle of that period have the notation that HMRC are currently checking to see if these years are full. The tax years are 2010-11 and 2011-12 so HMRC have had over a decade to check that these years are full. My tax record shows that my tax returns were submitted correctly and on time for those years so I'm unsure what it is that they need to check. 

I wondered if anyone else had similar experiences and how these anomalies were rectified? I've tried calling HMRC a number of times but the wait times are long so I've yet to get through to someone. I have two small children so inevitably after 45 minutes or so on hold one of my children needs something and I need to abandon the call while still on hold to tend to them.

The other odd thing on my record is that it states I have 15 full years, but my record also states that I need 19 more years of contributions to qualify for the full state pension. Totalling 34 years. I thought everyone needed to make 35 full years worth of contributions to qualify. What could be the explanation for me requiring a year less? I've tried googling to find out the answer but haven't had any success.

molerat

I thought everyone needed to make 35 full years worth of contributions to qualify.

What made you think that ? The .gov page is quite clear on the 35 year requirement, the bolded bit covering it.

https://www.gov.uk/new-state-pension/what-youll-get

If your National Insurance record started after April 2016

If your National Insurance record started after April 2016 you will need 35 qualifying years to get the full rate of new State Pension.

To get the full amount in under 35 years you would have been contracted in and receiving additional state pension amounts which would be in excess of the difference between the new pension and old pension.

The usual reason for the "checking" marker is that you were self employed and did not pay class 2 for that year.  The marker will stay until you reach state retirement and they finalise the NI record to instigate payment.

pjs493

molerat said:

I thought everyone needed to make 35 full years worth of contributions to qualify.

What made you think that ? The .gov page is quite clear on the 35 year requirement, the bolded bit covering it.

https://www.gov.uk/new-state-pension/what-youll-get

If your National Insurance record started after April 2016

If your National Insurance record started after April 2016 you will need 35 qualifying years to get the full rate of new State Pension.

To get the full amount in under 35 years you would have been contracted in and receiving additional state pension amounts which would be in excess of the difference between the new pension and old pension.

So presumably at some point I've made additional contributions (or a previous employer has) which means I only need to contribute for 34 years and not 35? My NI record started in the late 1990s.

artyboy

pjs493 said:

molerat said:

I thought everyone needed to make 35 full years worth of contributions to qualify.

What made you think that ? The .gov page is quite clear on the 35 year requirement, the bolded bit covering it.

https://www.gov.uk/new-state-pension/what-youll-get

If your National Insurance record started after April 2016

If your National Insurance record started after April 2016 you will need 35 qualifying years to get the full rate of new State Pension.

To get the full amount in under 35 years you would have been contracted in and receiving additional state pension amounts which would be in excess of the difference between the new pension and old pension.

So presumably at some point I've made additional contributions (or a previous employer has) which means I only need to contribute for 34 years and not 35? My NI record started in the late 1990s.

It's a black art, working it out through the transitional period. I was fully paid up by year 29 (possibly sooner, that was the first time I got a forecast)...

molerat

pjs493 said:

molerat said:

I thought everyone needed to make 35 full years worth of contributions to qualify.

What made you think that ? The .gov page is quite clear on the 35 year requirement, the bolded bit covering it.

https://www.gov.uk/new-state-pension/what-youll-get

If your National Insurance record started after April 2016

If your National Insurance record started after April 2016 you will need 35 qualifying years to get the full rate of new State Pension.

To get the full amount in under 35 years you would have been contracted in and receiving additional state pension amounts which would be in excess of the difference between the new pension and old pension.

So presumably at some point I've made additional contributions (or a previous employer has) which means I only need to contribute for 34 years and not 35? My NI record started in the late 1990s.

If contracted in you paid more NI and received the additional state pension.  When the starting amount was worked out in April 2016 a new pension year was worth £4.45 and an old year £3.98.  With under 35 years history it was fairly easy for the total of your additional pension earned to exceed the z years x 47p making the old pension higher.

pjs493

Thanks for the explanations regarding the 34 v 35 years. It seems that my contributions from before 2016 mean that it has reduced my required minimum years to 34.

Now just the question regarding the years where HMRC are still 'checking their records' to see if the years are full. As mentioned in my first post, I don't know what it could be that they need to check when I submitted tax returns for those years due to self employment.

molerat

The usual reason for the "checking" marker is that you were self employed and did not pay class 2 for that year.  The marker will stay until you reach state retirement and they finalise the NI record to instigate payment.

pjs493

molerat said:

The usual reason for the "checking" marker is that you were self employed and did not pay class 2 for that year.  The marker will stay until you reach state retirement and they finalise the NI record to instigate payment.

That could be the reason, to be honest, it was so long ago I have no idea if I earned enough in that year to make class 2 contributions. I did see from my tax record that I ended up with a tax refund in both of those years, but I did in a number of years when I was self employed due to also doing part time paid employment on a BR tax code (I used to pick up seasonal work such as invigilating exams at the local university) and therefore paying more tax than was due.

Fredw56

Don’t be complacent about the 35 year criteria. At your age the government has lots of time to jig about with number of qualifying years. It has done it before.

as for the missing years. Even if the DWP/HMRC is wrong they will never admit it. In fact, they won’t even respond when you point out the error and offer the evidence. Been there with all that myself. Head on a brick wall stuff. My solution was to keep on paying  class2 even when voluntary til the very end. 

pjs493

Fredw56 said:

Don’t be complacent about the 35 year criteria. At your age the government has lots of time to jig about with number of qualifying years. It has done it before.

as for the missing years. Even if the DWP/HMRC is wrong they will never admit it. In fact, they won’t even respond when you point out the error and offer the evidence. Been there with all that myself. Head on a brick wall stuff. My solution was to keep on paying  class2 even when voluntary til the very end. 

The missing years are accurate, they are due to me being either a full time student and therefore only working part time, not working during exam periods, over Christmas holidays, etc. Or they are from when I was living overseas and therefore not working in the UK.

skycatcher

molerat said:

The usual reason for the "checking" marker is that you were self employed and did not pay class 2 for that year.  The marker will stay until you reach state retirement and they finalise the NI record to instigate payment.

My record for 22/23 show the "checking" even though i paid my class 2 in June 23. I rang them and eventually got a guy who said it might be summer 24 before they updated it but you think they won't do anything until SPA which for need is Nov 25.