Self Employment and NI/State Pensions

DRS1

bandit33 said:

molerat said:

bandit33 said:

Not quite sure what you mean sorry but we've both been working from 1977 she has 30 full years accumulated to date...

If she has been working since 1977 why has she only got 30 years, close to 50 years has passed since then.

Has she been submitting SA and paying class 2 contributions ?  Class 2 has only been a freebie since 22/23 and often needed paying on a voluntary basis with low earnings.  I believe the perceived wisdom was often that as it is a voluntary tax why pay it !

Has she actually checked her pension forecast for the definitive amounts ?

Hi she had some years off when she was at College and also working abroad. We have not paid class 2 contributions on a voluntary basis.... forecast is Max £188.66 and as at 5/4/25 £182.08....

That suggests she may have some overseas state pension which she could claim at some point (I believe it can be done through the DWP with no need to deal with any foreign social security people).  Also she may be able to pay voluntary contributions for the years abroad - there is a form she may need to fill in to see if those contributions can be class 2.

molerat

bandit33 said:

molerat said:

bandit33 said:

Not quite sure what you mean sorry but we've both been working from 1977 she has 30 full years accumulated to date...

If she has been working since 1977 why has she only got 30 years, close to 50 years has passed since then.

Has she been submitting SA and paying class 2 contributions ?  Class 2 has only been a freebie since 22/23 and often needed paying on a voluntary basis with low earnings.  I believe the perceived wisdom was often that as it is a voluntary tax why pay it !

Has she actually checked her pension forecast for the definitive amounts ?

Hi she had some years off when she was at College and also working abroad. We have not paid class 2 contributions on a voluntary basis.... forecast is Max £188.66 and as at 5/4/25 £182.08....

There will also be  third amount, how much can be achieved with filling past gaps, likely £221.55.

She currently has £182.08.  Paying 25-26 will take her to £188.66.  That still leaves her £41.59 or 7 years short of the full amount.  Each year purchased (up to 6) will give £6.58 each with the 7th giving the final £2.12 but likely that full amount will not be available to her.

As it seems shedid not make contact with DWP / HMRC prior to April 2025 she will be limited to purchasing back to 2019-20, and will need to discuss with HMRC the eligibility to pay at class 2, around £180 pa, or class 3 at around £900 or whether she could be entitled to any self employed freebies under the new regs.

bandit33

QrizB said:

bandit33 said:

Marcon said:

bandit33 said:

dunstonh said:

 but whilst for the last 5(plus many more) my NI contributions are showing as 'Full Year' my wifes are not

When was the last time your wife showed a full year?
What is your wife's entitlement so far?
Can it be improved any further (has it already hit maximum or does it indicate how many more years are required)?

2014/2015 last year showing as full..she has 30 years thus far....

What NI has she been paying since then?

None it looks like we didn't pay voluntary class 2 contributions...

That's why she's not been accruing NI years, and is not forecast to get a full state pension.

However, if her most recent full year is 2014/15, she should be able to buy some of those missing years.

Are you certain that her forecast says:

bandit33 said:

... her State Pension Forecast says the Max she can achieve is £188.66 and as at 5/4/25 the figure is £182.08...

There should be more to the forecast than that? Something about how to improve her forecast?

There isn't no when I click on the 'View Details' hyperlink I get this :

Year is not full

View Details

This year is not included in your State Pension forecast because your record needs updating.

Contact HMRC to update this tax year  and this takes me to this page https://www.gov.uk/find-hmrc-contacts/national-insurance-enquiries?_gl=1*u1vslb*_ga*MTEyMzEzMzczNy4xNzYzMjA3NzA1*_ga_Y4LWMWY6WS*czE3NjM4MDQyODYkbzUkZzEkdDE3NjM4MDQ0MzkkajYwJGwwJGgw

 

bandit33

Dazed_and_C0nfused said:

QrizB said:

bandit33 said:

Marcon said:

bandit33 said:

dunstonh said:

 but whilst for the last 5(plus many more) my NI contributions are showing as 'Full Year' my wifes are not

When was the last time your wife showed a full year?
What is your wife's entitlement so far?
Can it be improved any further (has it already hit maximum or does it indicate how many more years are required)?

2014/2015 last year showing as full..she has 30 years thus far....

What NI has she been paying since then?

None it looks like we didn't pay voluntary class 2 contributions...

That's why she's not been accruing NI years, and is not forecast to get a full state pension.

However, if her most recent full year is 2014/15, she should be able to buy some of those missing years.

Are you certain that her forecast says:

bandit33 said:

... her State Pension Forecast says the Max she can achieve is £188.66 and as at 5/4/25 the figure is £182.08...

There should be more to the forecast than that? Something about how to improve her forecast?

Agree, suspect the op hasn't done what was suggested by various posters earlier in this thread.

I have been through all the screens to be fair...

molerat

Likely then those not full years are showing as "checking" which is generally because she was registered as self employed but did not pay class 2. It means those years do not currently exist in any form so will not show up in the forecast in any way. There is hope then that she will be able to pay those years at class 2 rate.

bandit33

Strange still though that I didn't pay any NI Contribuitions either but I have 4 years 19/20 20/21 21/22 and 22/23 which are showing as full......(from self employment!!)

sheramber

bandit33 said:

Strange still though that I didn't pay any NI Contribuitions either but I have 4 years 19/20 20/21 21/22 and 22/23 which are showing as full......(from self employment!!)

What was your taxable profit each year? 

Was your wife’s the same amount?

bandit33

sheramber said:

bandit33 said:

Strange still though that I didn't pay any NI Contribuitions either but I have 4 years 19/20 20/21 21/22 and 22/23 which are showing as full......(from self employment!!)

What was your taxable profit each year? 

Was your wife’s the same amount?

Our profits were very small if any and yes they were split 50/50

bandit33

Brief update... we wrote to the Future Pensions people and they replied fairly quickly to say that my wife should be able to purchase the 'missing' 6 years 2019/20 to 2024/25 but that we had to contact HMRC to determine the 'status' of those years.....we await a response but fingers crossed...if we can then her Pension would increase from £182.08 to £221.55 pw.

bandit33

Latest Update..we heard from HMRC today who have told us we can pay Class 2 NI contributions for 5 years at £182 per year and for one year at £170.71(adjustment to Self Assessment as small credit balance held)so my wifes 'gained' 6 years. Just FYI HMRC took less than a month to reply......as they say happy days....