State pension clarification

molerat

My main takeaway is to follow up on HRP. I've read her NI record should show if any year was awarded HRP and none do

HRP will not show on her NI record as it does not add anything, it was behind the scenes and will only show on the NI record for post 2010 retirees.

You really need to look at her annual increase letter as that should describe each of the different segments and amounts that make up her pension, that may give a clue as to where hey have come from.

xylophone

What exactly does your wife's statement of increase in benefits (presumably recently received) show as to her entitlement post 6 April?

What pension components are shown?

peteduk

Thank you again for your replies.
Having read the latest increase info I am now embarrassed by my original post because my wife's image of what she receives is less than what she actually receives - see below.

From 7th April 2025 she will receive (weekly):
Basic state pension = £135.87
Pre '97 additional state pension = £0.45
Post '97 additional state pension = £11.88
Graduated retirement benefit = £0.18
Total = £148.38 (i.e. £593.52 per 4 weeks or £642.98 per calendar month) - she is paid every 4 weeks

In answer to points raised, more info and my latest thinking:
"HRP will not show on her NI record as it does not add anything, it was behind the scenes and will only show on the NI record for post 2010 retirees."
I read that it should show on NI records and thought it applied to all HRP regardless of retirement date, sorry

My understanding of her contributions for the basic state pension is as follows:
From the .gov website:
"If you’re a woman you usually need:
30 qualifying years if you were born between 1950 and 1953
39 qualifying years if were born before 1950" - my wife was born in 1948
So for my wife to receive £135.87 basic state pension she must have some HRP years allocated which I calculate as ~ 9 years based on her 23 full NI years, and the 2025 state pension of £176.45.
23/(39-9.13)x176.45 = £135.86
(There are 10 years shown as "Year is not full" when she was receiving child benefit so this seems reasonable) 

In section 11.6 of molerat's link it states:
"If you remarried or formed a civil partnership before State Pension age, you cannot claim a State Pension on your former spouse’s NI contributions record"
and
"If you are a married woman not entitled to a basic State Pension based on your own NI record, or it is less than £101.55 a week, you may be able to get a Category B State Pension. This is based on your husband’s NI record once he reaches State Pension age, sometimes called the ‘married woman’s pension’. If your husband does not have a full contributions record, you receive a proportion of it."

Therefore I don't think any contribution is possible based on my or her previous husband's contributions.

I am sorry if you feel I have wasted your time. I definitely feel frustrated as I understood her pension was much lower than it is.
If my logic above is correct I think it is difficult for me to investigate further.
It may be that a couple more years could be due HRP from 1969 to 1975 (only 3 full years are recorded) but these include my wife's overseas postings with her husband and her 1st child was born overseas.

Thank you again,
Peter

QrizB

Thank you for coming back and updating us with your wife's numbers. Don't feel embarrassed, there's nothing to be sorry for and it's nice to have a thread that closes satisfactorily rather than the originator just disappearing into the aether!

Sarahspangles

peteduk said:

Having read the latest increase info I am now embarrassed by my original post because my wife's image of what she receives is less than what she actually receives - see below.

It’s a ticklish subject to raise but if this muddle is uncharacteristic then it might be time to suggest an LPA, if she hasn’t already got one in place.

peteduk

Thank you for your kind words.
LPAs in place for both of us