Qualifying NI years for full new state pension

RG2015

My wife will be able to claim her new state pension from June 2035. She currently has 27 full years of NI contributions shown on her personal tax account online.

It also says she needs to contribute another 10 years (as shown below).

However, that will bring her qualifying years up to 27. When I search online I see that the number of years required is 35.

Why do they not say that you will receive £230.25 if you contribute another 8 years?

She is currently paying my monthly direct debit, and I am wondering if she need to pay right up to April 2035.

You need to continue to contribute National Insurance to reach your forecast

Estimate based on your National Insurance record up to 5 April 2025

£169.24 a week

Forecast if you contribute another 10 years before 5 April 2035.

£230.25 a week

£230.25 is the most you can get

MallyGirl

35 years only applies to youngsters who started contributing NI from 2016. Everyone older is under transitional rules.

Isthisforreal99

Like many you have misunderstood the 35 year thing. The 'new state pension' was introduced on 6 April 2016 and 35 years contributions from then will get you a full pension but for anyone older you will have a mix of old and new, contracted out and not contracted out. So dependant on history it could well be more than 35 years.

If the forecast aays 10 more years then that is what will be needed.

Dazed_and_C0nfused

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6656880/qualifying-ni-years-for-full-new-state-pension

35 years are irrelevant to your wife as she falls under transitional rules.

Only people starting to build an NI history from 2016 onwards need to think about the 35 years aspect of the new State Pension.

An additional 9 years will take her to we £228.44/week. The final year will only add the last £1.81/week.

molerat

https://www.gov.uk/new-state-pension/what-youll-get

If your National Insurance record started after April 2016

If your National Insurance record started after April 2016 you will need 35 qualifying years to get the full rate of new State Pension.

If your National Insurance record started before April 2016

You may have been contracted out. While you were contracted out, you or your employer paid more into your workplace or private pension and less into your State Pension.

If you were contracted out, you will usually need more than 35 qualifying years to get the full rate of new State Pension.

If not contracted out it could take less than 35 years to reach the max, the best seen here is 28. Needing more than 35 = contracted out.

RG2015

Many thanks for your help, but I do have another question.

Her personal tax account online says that she can fill up to four earlier missing years at £923 per year. This is the annual amount of the current direct debit. Next year will be £956.80.

I hadn't seen this before and was wondering if paying £923 x 4 now is a more financially astute option. This way, only 6 more years would be needed (and possibly 5 which would only reduce the annual amount by £1.81 per week).

We would check this out with the pension service first to make sure of the expected outcome.

molerat

Payments rise in line with CPI so are cost neutral, the real benefit would have been paying those years earlier at the original rate rather than the increased current rate. You should be able to beat inflation in a savings account so IMO putting the money away and paying going forward would be a better option.

p00hsticks

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81899314#Comment_81899314

Presumably as you say she is paying by monthly direct debit she is not currently working.

Is ther any chance that might change in the future ?

Or that she might at some point be entitled to NI credits - e.g. by providing child care for grandchildren or by claiming Carers Allowance.

RG2015

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81899383#Comment_81899383

Thanks.

I had considered the first but not the second. I wasn't aware that caring for grandchildren could give NI credits.

Not that any such occurence is on the early horizon. 😘

p00hsticks

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81899401#Comment_81899401

Basically, if an adult is caring for a child under 12 in order for the parent to go to work, then providing the worker earns enough NI for a full year themselves, the additional NI credits associated with the Child Benefit can be transferred tp the adult providing the care.

Details here

Apply for Specified Adult Childcare credits - GOV.UK