Worth topping up wife's missed NI years

Gavcob

hello,

just asking as have had different discussions lately to get me questioning…

My wife's NI years are 5 years short atm.

with all scare stories of a means tested state pension, is it worth topping up the black hole?

any advice or theories gladly appreciated.

All she has is a 10k per year nurse pension and she is 58 and not likely to get any other years in.

regards

gav

QrizB

with all scare stories of a means tested state pension

Ignore the scare stories.

My wife's NI years are 5 years short atm.

Are you just counting to 35? Or have you checked her forecast?

https://www.gov.uk/check-state-pension

sammyjammy

If, and thats a big if, it were means testing in your life time the NI contributions wouldn't matter a damn it would be based on what income you have as a couple.

As said above check her actual individual record.

Linton

If it turns out that your wife can usefully pay for extra NI years then it could well be one of the best investments she will ever make. One year's contribution (about £900) is repaid in extra SP in 3 years with the the extra income continuing for free for the rest of her life.

molerat

Nowhere near enough info in that post to make an informed comment.

How much does her forecast show she currently has and how many years does it show she needs to reach the full amount ?

Why is she not going to get any more - has she already stopped working ?

Is there any scope for her to be looking after grandchildren before reaching state retirement age ?

Has she any part filled years back to 2020-21 ?

For anyone not likely to be reliant on pension credit it makes absolute sense to make up the pension to the full amount, the question is when to do it. If there are no cheap part filled past years then it makes no sense paying earlier than absolutely necessary

otb666

Home Responsibility if took time out to look after kids or caring for someone. https://www.gov.uk/home-responsibilities-protection-hrp/eligibility

Gavcob

hi, thanks for comments. Yes her forecast is 200 per week atATM roughly, and showing missing 5years. We paid for any part years already.

she claimed her NHS pension at 55. She just does teacher primary school assistant work now about 1 or2 shifts a month.

she had struggled with mental health for a few years.

no grandchildren.

regards

gav

QrizB

Yes her forecast is 200 per week atATM roughly, and showing missing 5years. We paid for any part years already.

So she'll get her SP at age 67, and by age 70 or so will have received additional pension equal to any extra years she buys. From 70 onwards she'll be in profit.

If you don't want to buy the years right now, make sue you do buy them before she reached State Pension Age. You could stick £5k in a good cash ISA and earmark it for future NI years (other investment options exist if you're comfortable with them). Buying the extra years might be something to put in the diary for the day after her 66th birthday.

p00hsticks

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82175932#Comment_82175932

Alternatively, as a way of spreading the cost, you can set up a monthly direct debit to pay for the current year - just remember to cancel tthe DD if you reach the maximum before SPA

finbaar

Scare stories...... well given the right wing press scare mongering about very modest proposals to the state pension uplift I wouldn't think any sensible government would go anywhere near it. Reform would though.

DRS1

Just one thought on topping up now or later - the price does go up as the years pass. If you look online you can see when a year will go up in price. Someone more clued up than me will know if the price increase is matched by the triple lock increase in the state pension.

And of course things may change in the next 8 years which could mean topping up now is not such a bright idea.