NI contributions: summary

B1ng0

My NI record (as opened via the link in my Personal Tax gov account) shows the correct information about each individual tax year, but no longer shows the summary, that is, the bit with "You have xx full years and yy years to contribute ...". 

That has apparently been replaced by the general text "You can usually only pay for gaps in your National Insurance record from the past 6 years. The deadline for paying gaps between April 2006 and April 2016 has been extended to 5 April 2025", which also seems irrelevant in my case as I have no gaps in my record. 

Did anyone notice this issue?

p00hsticks

I hadn't noticed, but I suspect they may have removed the 'you have xx full years' bit because for the majority of people currently the number of full years is not a very relevant piece of information and can lead to confusion (as is often seen on this board). 

For anyone born before the year 2000, and thus having working lives falling under both the old and new State Pension schemes. the number of years required for a full state pension will be determined by transitional rules using their individual circumstances - the figure can be anything from 29 to 50. 

There are a lot of lazy journalists out there (and some lazy readers who don't read the small print) who think that 35 years gets you a full state pension, when it often won't and you need to check your individual state pension forecast for the full picture.   
Check your State Pension forecast - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Silvertabby

The text is largely generic, and you have to be careful that you only take heed of the bits that apply to you.  If in doubt, check.  Never assume.

In my case, I paid 4 years of post 2016 voluntary Class 3s to take me up to the full nSP before I reached SPA.  The 4th year only added about £4.80, but still worth doing.  Once the Class 3s had been added to my record, and my pension confirmed as the full nSP, my NI records still showed one year as being incomplete, the amount due should I wish to pay it, and how to pay it.  I knew that paying this £700 odd wouldn't add a penny to my pension - but others may assume that if DWP are 'asking' for payment then it must increase their pension. 

B1ng0

Thank you, I was thinking the same, that is, the summary might have been removed because in fact confusing. However, I was wondering if others have also noticed that the summary is gone - otherwise, there might be a problem with my record that I would need to address. Can anyone confirm?

double_dutchy

If there was a problem you need to address you can still discover that by looking at your state pension in the same personal tax account - that should show you how much pension you have earned so far (currently up to the end of 2022/23 tax year) and how many years you still need to contribute to get a full state pension.

B1ng0

double_dutchy said:

If there was a problem you need to address you can still discover that by looking at your state pension in the same personal tax account - that should show you how much pension you have earned so far (currently up to the end of 2022/23 tax year) and how many years you still need to contribute to get a full state pension.

I think the state pension forecast looks correct. I'm just puzzled by the disappearance of the summary in the NI record, which is why I'm trying to find out if I'm the only one affected.

SacredStephan

I noticed the disappearance of the NI years summary earlier this year, along with the removal of the link to the COPE amount.

B1ng0

SacredStephan said:

I noticed the disappearance of the NI years summary earlier this year, along with the removal of the link to the COPE amount.

Thank you. What's the COPE ? I didn't notice anything else missing.

molerat

B1ng0 said:

SacredStephan said:

I noticed the disappearance of the NI years summary earlier this year, along with the removal of the link to the COPE amount.

Thank you. What's the COPE ? I didn't notice anything else missing.

Contracted Out Pension Equivalent, only for those that were contracted out of the second state pension at some point.  If it applies to you there will be a mention on the front page of the forecast that "you've been in a contracted-out pension scheme".  The COPE amount is still shown though by going to https://www.tax.service.gov.uk/check-your-state-pension/account/cope whilst logged in to your on line tax account.  The amount is though of no real relevance as your pension forecast already factors it in and is the reason for people needing more than the misquoted / misunderstood 35 years for a full pension.