State pension do I get more

givememoney

I am now claiming my state pension. I get £85 per week, more that some poor soul in the Daily Mail who's getting 42p a week.

Will I be entitled to more once my husband retires. I did pay the `married woman stamp` for sometime before giving up to have the offsprings. I was also told I should get something from the ex as well.

seven-day-weekend

I'm no expert here, but I'll try and someone will correct me if I'm wrong.

£85 p.w sounds like slightly less than the basic State Pension to me. You say you paid married womens' stamp - I don't understand how you have a pension in your own right unless you paid/were credited with full stamp for most of your working life, or were awarded Home Responsibilities Protection, which is not applicable if you only paid 'small' stamp.

If this is the State Pension, then I don't think you will get any more when your husband retires unless between you, you are eligible for means-tested pension credit.

You can afaik only claim off your ex if you are divorced, not remarried and not entitled to a pension in your own right.

Could you give us some more information as I don't understand how you can have full State Pension in your own right on the information you have given.

Sorry this is a bit garbled....maybe someone will come along to whom it's all as clear as day!

This link may help:

http://www.thepensionservice.gov.uk/atoz/atozdetailed/retirement.asp

(edited to add) ....you might get more replies if you pst on the Pensions board.

chesky369

"I don't understand how you have a pension in your own right unless you paid full stamp for most of your working life."

I also paid the married woman's stamp or no stamp at all for years. But I also paid full NI for years too. I now get a state pension of £69, plus £49 additional state pension. So it's perfectly possible.

seven-day-weekend

Thankyou chesky. It's just that the OP didn't mention that she had ever paid full stamp which is one of the reasons I asked for more information.

I was wondering whether her money was Pension Credit (means-tested) as opposed to actual State Pension, which is not.

I've added a bit more to my post to clarify a little better.

givememoney

Thanks for the replies.

I married at 19 went on to the married womans stamp.

Divorced at 25 and remarried at 26. Again I believe (long time ago now) went onto the married womans stamp. Had 1st child at 28 went to work part time when 32 again paying the married womans stamp. From aged 42 onwards paid full stamp. 18 years at full stamp.

It was actually the pension service person at a retirement seminar I went to who told me I could claim against my former husband's contributions even though I was remarried. She said it didn't matter how many former husband's there were.

EdInvestor

Looks like you have a chunk of SERPS/S2P in there like Chesky.Check with the Pensions Service to see if you can increase the basic amount on basis of spouse´s/exes conts (You will keep your S2P on top of any increased basic).

givememoney

margaretclare wrote: »

Can that really be true?

I am thinking of my husband's first ex-wife. She's had 4 husbands in all, he was the second, she married again twice after him, divorced from all of them. She'll now be about 78 - is she really claiming pension payments against all 4 ex-husbands?

I was given exactly the opposite information at the time that I remarried. It didn't matter to me, because I was claiming against my own contribution record, but a Benefits Adviser at CAB when I used to go there, told me that you can only claim against your present husband's contributions, unless you're living as a widow or a divorcee.

Margaret

I guess the money I could claim would only be from the time I was actually married to the ex. i.e 6 years. Those 6 years he would have been paying in for me via his contributions so therefore I would be entitled to some. She pointed out to me at the time that it didn't affect his pension in anyway (not that I would have cared).

If what you say where correct, take the scenaro of someone who was married say 35 years and her other half was making contributions towards her pension. They divorced and she remarried at 55 does that mean she would loose out all those years contributions?

seven-day-weekend

givememoney wrote: »

I guess the money I could claim would only be from the time I was actually married to the ex. i.e 6 years. Those 6 years he would have been paying in for me via his contributions so therefore I would be entitled to some. She pointed out to me at the time that it didn't affect his pension in anyway (not that I would have cared).

If what you say where correct, take the scenaro of someone who was married say 35 years and her other half was making contributions towards her pension. They divorced and she remarried at 55 does that mean she would loose out all those years contributions?

As far as I know she would then claim from her new husband's contributions if she had not built up her own pension.

I don't think it's anything to do with how long you have been married, you can claim 60% of your current spouse's pension if you do not have one in your own right.

That's what I always thought anyway. Could somebody clarify please??

seven-day-weekend

http://www.pensionsadvisoryservice.org.uk/State_Pensions/Divorce/

Just found this - if you read the section where it says 'I am divorced but remarrying' it says that if you remarry you cannot use the NI contribution of your former spouse.