NIC and state pension

feddy61

Posting on behalf of my husband regarding the state pension and NIC.
He is 72 this year and has been getting state pension since he was 65 but it's not the full pension of £221.50 pw. I have checked his NIC on gov.uk he has 49 years full year contributions from 1969 to 2017/2018 I've gone through each year to see if any gaps and as far as I can see there are none so I don't understand why he's not getting full SP. I have tried phoning to double check  but you just get cut off saying no advisors available I've also tried the chat again unable to help. Does anyone have any suggestions its just so frustrating. Thank you. 

TheSpectator

Probably because he was contracted out at some point. Does he have any occupational pensions?

QrizB

feddy61 said:

Posting on behalf of my husband regarding the state pension and NIC.
He is 72 this year and has been getting state pension since he was 65 but it's not the full pension of £221.50 pw.

He retired in 2018? In which case, it's entirely possible that he cannot get the full £221.10 a year.

Was he paying NI right up until he retired?

There's a long explanation in this post but in brief, when the new state pension was introduced on 6/4/2016 there were two calculations done to see what everyone's starting amount in the new scheme was. One calculation looked at what they'd accrued under the old scheme, the other at what they'd have earned under the new one but less a contracted-out pension equivalent (representative of the pension they'd accrued in a private scheme after contracting our of SERPS/S2P).

Whichever calculation gave the greater amount is the one that was applied.

People who were left short of the new maximum could then continue to accrue state pension by paying NI (or getting credits) after 6/4/2016. However if they retired before boosting their pension to the max amount, that was it they were stuck with whatever they'd earned.

This could be what has happened to your husband. He should however have an occupational pension from his contracted-out time which more than makes up the difference, unless he chose to cash it in and spend it on something.

Brie

And if he doesn't have another pension being paid he may be eligible for pension credits or possibly other benefits depending on what other money may be coming in to the house.

QrizB

Brie said:

And if he doesn't have another pension being paid he may be eligible for pension credits or possibly other benefits depending on what other money may be coming in to the house.

Although it seems quite likely that he was contracted out, and so will have some sort of private or employer pension as well as the SP.

Floss

QrizB said:

Brie said:

And if he doesn't have another pension being paid he may be eligible for pension credits or possibly other benefits depending on what other money may be coming in to the house.

Although it seems quite likely that he was contracted out, and so will have some sort of private or employer pension as well as the SP.

But may have already cashed that in.

JIL

Does this help?

https://www.ageuk.org.uk/information-advice/money-legal/pensions/state-pension/new-state-pension/

I suspect your husband has an occupational pension that reduced his contributions paid towards his actual state pension. Contracted out.