45 years paying NI, but not getting full pension?

Alasco

This all started after I saw an article on here about State Pension boosting and so started checking things out!!......  I am already recieving my pension, but it is £11.06 short of the £221.20 per week of a normal full pension and I don't understand why. 
I was employed for 28 years non-stop (from 1972) and paid full NI contributions through my pay-packet, which was the norm. No dispute there, NI record confirms. 
I was then made redundant and so became self-employed, which I remained until retirement age. From the start, I used an accountant to do my books and I then paid full years (at self-employed rates) until 2011 - a total of 39 full years by now - again NI confirms. My accountant, at that time, told me I did not have to pay any more NI as I had paid my full "share" by then, so for the next 5 years I did not have to pay anything. However, we know things changed after that, and so I was advised to start paying again, so from 2016 until 2022 (another 6 years) I paid my NI. 
I thought I would qualify for the full pension - after all 45 full years of NI paid in, only 6 missing out of 51. If only 35 are needed, then why am I not getting full pension? Anyone know why?    

Dazed_and_C0nfused

Alasco said:

This all started after I saw an article on here about State Pension boosting and so started checking things out!!......  I am already recieving my pension, but it is £11.06 short of the £221.20 per week of a normal full pension and I don't understand why. 
I was employed for 28 years non-stop (from 1972) and paid full NI contributions through my pay-packet, which was the norm. No dispute there, NI record confirms. 
I was then made redundant and so became self-employed, which I remained until retirement age. From the start, I used an accountant to do my books and I then paid full years (at self-employed rates) until 2011 - a total of 39 full years by now - again NI confirms. My accountant, at that time, told me I did not have to pay any more NI as I had paid my full "share" by then, so for the next 5 years I did not have to pay anything. However, we know things changed after that, and so I was advised to start paying again, so from 2016 until 2022 (another 6 years) I paid my NI. 
I thought I would qualify for the full pension - after all 45 full years of NI paid in, only 6 missing out of 51. If only 35 are needed, then why am I not getting full pension? Anyone know why?    

Why do you think that 35 years is of any relevance to you?

Those rules apply to people starting to build an NI record from 2016.  

What NI were you paying from 2016, Class 2, Class 4 or Class 2 and Class 4?

molerat

What exactly does your NI record show for full years ?

[Deleted User]

Were you ‘contracted out’ from April 1988?

doodling

Hi,

Did you have another pension (e.g. a company pension) whilst you were employed for those 28 years?

Requiring 35 years is only applicable to those born this century - those born earlier may require more or less.

Ayr_Rage

@Alasco I started accruing NI in 1976 and needed just over 48 years of credits to get the full SP.

Marcon

Alasco said:

This all started after I saw an article on here about State Pension boosting and so started checking things out!!......  I am already recieving my pension, but it is £11.06 short of the £221.20 per week of a normal full pension and I don't understand why. 
I was employed for 28 years non-stop (from 1972) and paid full NI contributions through my pay-packet, which was the norm. No dispute there, NI record confirms. 
I was then made redundant and so became self-employed, which I remained until retirement age. From the start, I used an accountant to do my books and I then paid full years (at self-employed rates) until 2011 - a total of 39 full years by now - again NI confirms. My accountant, at that time, told me I did not have to pay any more NI as I had paid my full "share" by then, so for the next 5 years I did not have to pay anything. However, we know things changed after that, and so I was advised to start paying again, so from 2016 until 2022 (another 6 years) I paid my NI. 
I thought I would qualify for the full pension - after all 45 full years of NI paid in, only 6 missing out of 51. If only 35 are needed, then why am I not getting full pension? Anyone know why?    

Sounds as if your accountant got it wrong.

Have a read of this: https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/pensions/article-7240605/Why-dont-state-pension-paid-39-years-NI.html

Alasco

Before I start, let me say "Thanks" to everyone who has replied. I do not claim to be an expert - I had an accountant who dealt with all this stuff (now retired)... - I am just asking the question as I don't understand.  

[Deleted User]
Were you ‘contracted out’ from April 1988?
Not as far as I can remember - but the NI records show "Full Year" so I presume not. 

doodling
Did you have another pension (e.g. a company pension) whilst you were employed for those 28 years?
Yes, I did for some of the time, but if I remember right, I cashed it in at some point (hard times).
 
Requiring 35 years is only applicable to those born this century - those born earlier may require more or less.
Yes, so I now understand. As I said above, it seemed to be the figure in every article I read.   

Ayr_Rage
I started accruing NI in 1976 and needed just over 48 years of credits to get the full SP.
That is very useful to know, thanks - I will get my calculator out! 

Marcon 
Sounds as if your accountant got it wrong.
Have a read of this: https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/pensions/article-7240605/Why-dont-state-pension-paid-39-years-NI.html
Thanks for the link - I will have a read. My accountant insisted it was the right thing to do at that particular time (end of 2011) as I remember questioning it, but I suppose with hindsight, you could well be right. 

 

QrizB

Alasco said:

My accountant insisted it was the right thing to do at that particular time (end of 2011) as I remember questioning it, but I suppose with hindsight, you could well be right.

Up until the New State Pension (NSP) was introduced in 2016, your accountant was probably right. Under the old scheme you only needed 30 years to get the old Basic State Pension (BSP); SERPS / S2P was on top of that.

In 2016 there was a calculation done based on both the old scheme and the new one to determine your starting amount in the NSP. Years after 2016 could increase this starting amount up to a maximum of the full NSP.

Alasco said:

I am already recieving my pension, but it is £11.06 short of the £221.20 per week of a normal full pension and I don't understand why. 
... from 2016 until 2022 (another 6 years) I paid my NI.

Years after 2016 were each worth £6.32 towards your NSP. If your 2024/25 NSP was £210.14 a week, and you had six full years (part years don't count) after 2016, your starting amount in 2016 would have been enough to get you £172.22 at retirement age.

The old BSP for 2024/25 was £169.50 so your "starting amount" will have been more than the old BSP.

If you'd been born a couple of years later you'd have been able to get two more post-2016 years and would have reached the full NSP when you'd retired in 2024.

There's a poster called molerat who has spent a huge amount of time explaining this to lots of different people in recent months. If you want an example you can read eg. this thread:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81355832#Comment_81355832

Silvertabby

Were you ‘contracted out’ from April 1988?
Not as far as I can remember - but the NI records show "Full Year" so I presume not. 

Contracting out started in 1978.

When your NI records say 'Full Year' they actually mean 'Full Financial Year' and don't differentiate between NI paid at full rate (contracted in to SERPS/SP2) or reduced rate (contracted out of SERPS/SP2).

p00hsticks

Marcon said:

Alasco said:

This all started after I saw an article on here about State Pension boosting and so started checking things out!!......  I am already recieving my pension, but it is £11.06 short of the £221.20 per week of a normal full pension and I don't understand why. 
I was employed for 28 years non-stop (from 1972) and paid full NI contributions through my pay-packet, which was the norm. No dispute there, NI record confirms. 
I was then made redundant and so became self-employed, which I remained until retirement age. From the start, I used an accountant to do my books and I then paid full years (at self-employed rates) until 2011 - a total of 39 full years by now - again NI confirms. My accountant, at that time, told me I did not have to pay any more NI as I had paid my full "share" by then, so for the next 5 years I did not have to pay anything. However, we know things changed after that, and so I was advised to start paying again, so from 2016 until 2022 (another 6 years) I paid my NI. 
I thought I would qualify for the full pension - after all 45 full years of NI paid in, only 6 missing out of 51. If only 35 are needed, then why am I not getting full pension? Anyone know why?    

Sounds as if your accountant got it wrong.

Have a read of this: https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/pensions/article-7240605/Why-dont-state-pension-paid-39-years-NI.html

No , I think at the time the accountant had it right.

From 2010, only 30 years were needed to qualify for the full basic state pension and the OP already had those. 

It was only following the introduction of the new State Pension in 2016 that the opportunity arose for the OP to boost their State Pension amount further by adding some post-2016 years, and the accountant rightly advised the OP to start paying again. Unfortunately for them they reached State Pension Age before they had a chance to add enough years to reach the maximum/