# State Pension Delays



## Chislenko (16 Oct 2021)

Reading a bit about this of late. Anybody on here been affected / know someone who has.

I am due to start receiving mine in Feb so wondering if I should jump the gun and start the online application early rather than wait for my DWP letter.


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## Cycleops (16 Oct 2021)

Guess this is due to the DWP people not wanting to go back to the office the lazy barstewards? I didn't claim mine for four years and that was a while back. 
No reason why you can't apply early so you're 'in the system' and they are aware. Don't know if it will make any difference but you can only try.


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## All uphill (16 Oct 2021)

From memory you can only apply up to six months before your relevant birthday. I did it precisely six months in advance to leave time for any errors at my end or theirs.


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## Chislenko (16 Oct 2021)

All uphill said:


> From memory you can only apply up to six months before your relevant birthday. I did it precisely six months in advance to leave time for any errors at my end or theirs.



Thanks for that, I think it I'll crack on with it.


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## ColinJ (16 Oct 2021)

Chislenko said:


> Reading a bit about this of late. Anybody on here been affected / know someone who has.
> 
> I am due to start receiving mine in Feb so wondering if I should jump the gun and start the online application early rather than wait for my DWP letter.


Didn't you get an 'invitation to apply' letter from the DWP?

I am due to get my pension in February and got a letter from the DWP a few weeks ago. I followed the instructions and applied online. A few days later I got a second letter telling me when I will get the payments and how much I will get.


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## welsh dragon (16 Oct 2021)

Colin and I have spoken about this. I am due to start getting my pension next March. I am just waiting to receive my letter within the next few weeks. 

I'm not unduly worried because if Colin has heard from the DWP then I'm sure i will as well.

According to the DWP they know the names of all those effected and say the problem will be all sorted by the end of this month (allegedly)


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## dodgy (16 Oct 2021)

Cycleops said:


> Guess this is due to the DWP people not wanting to go back to the office the lazy barstewards


Yeah, it's definitely all about laziness.


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## ColinJ (16 Oct 2021)

You don't _HAVE _to wait for the letter... If you are within 4 months of retirement age, you can get on with claiming *HERE*.


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## welsh dragon (16 Oct 2021)

As Colin says you can apply online at the high website. You need a gateway password. Once you have that you can see exactly how much pension you can expect to get and you can also apply for it online there as well.


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## Chislenko (16 Oct 2021)

ColinJ said:


> You don't _HAVE _to wait for the letter... If you are within 4 months of retirement age, you can get on with claiming *HERE*.




Yes have seen that Colin, will be going down that route rather than wait for a letter which may or may not arrive.


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## jowwy (16 Oct 2021)

dodgy said:


> Yeah, it's definitely all about laziness.


Explain???


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## ColinJ (16 Oct 2021)

jowwy said:


> Explain???


_Cycleops _implies that the only reason for not wanting to go back to working in an office is laziness.

_Dodgy _is hinting that their _just might be_ other reasons... (More flexible hours, avoiding lengthy and/or stressful commutes, saving money etc.)


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## PaulSB (17 Oct 2021)

My experience varies from what others have mentioned. My state pension was due to start on May 6th 2020 and it did. I received a letter several months before this date asking me to apply online three months before my pension date.

I tried to make the application in early February 2020 to be told applications were not being accepted until two months before SP age. I returned in March and got a message saying, I think, six weeks. I was successful the third time and it's a very simple process.

I was surprised when @ColinJ posted sometime ago he had successfully applied several months ahead of his SP age. I just assumed the DWP had experienced problems and sorted them out. Nothing more or less.

I read of difficulties in SP payment. I wouldn't worry, it couldn't be more rock solid and provided you apply correctly you will receive your entitlement but it seems it could be late. It's possible the DWP have delays in other areas involving means tested benefits as these will always take time. SP is simple, a record exists, you qualify for a certain payment, the application is processed and the money should arrive on time.

The one thing I find confusing is the question of buying more years. To qualify for a full SP my wife has to purchase additional contributions. The dates by which this needs to be done are shown online. What I'm unsure of is do all the years have to be purchased at once or individually as the due date for each year approaches?

Again if this applies to you it will show online. The online info is simple and clear to understand apart from my query above.

https://www.theguardian.com/money/2021/oct/16/uk-state-pension-payment-delays-age-uk-dwp


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## cougie uk (17 Oct 2021)

Cycleops said:


> Guess this is due to the DWP people not wanting to go back to the office the lazy barstewards? I didn't claim mine for four years and that was a while back.
> No reason why you can't apply early so you're 'in the system' and they are aware. Don't know if it will make any difference but you can only try.


That's rubbish. I've heard of delays long before we even had a pandemic. 
I see no value in making people go into an office and make each other ill.


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## annedonnelly (17 Oct 2021)

dodgy said:


> Yeah, it's definitely all about laziness.


Yeah, that's the only reason I'm still working from home after 18 months. I'm just bone idle - the boss has no idea what I'm doing.

I don't work for the DWP so don't fret about me affecting your pension


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## Chislenko (17 Oct 2021)

welsh dragon said:


> As Colin says you can apply online at the high website. You need a gateway password. Once you have that you can see exactly how much pension you can expect to get and you can also apply for it online there as well.





PaulSB said:


> My experience varies from what others have mentioned. My state pension was due to start on May 6th 2020 and it did. I received a letter several months before this date asking me to apply online three months before my pension date.
> 
> I tried to make the application in early February 2020 to be told applications were not being accepted until two months before SP age. I returned in March and got a message saying, I think, six weeks. I was successful the third time and it's a very simple process.
> 
> ...





PaulSB said:


> My experience varies from what others have mentioned. My state pension was due to start on May 6th 2020 and it did. I received a letter several months before this date asking me to apply online three months before my pension date.
> 
> I tried to make the application in early February 2020 to be told applications were not being accepted until two months before SP age. I returned in March and got a message saying, I think, six weeks. I was successful the third time and it's a very simple process.
> 
> ...




I'm definitely ok on years Paul, 46 bl--dy long ones I have paid in and never claimed a penny!!

I am looking forward to the day I get something back 😊


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## PeteXXX (17 Oct 2021)

Slightly away from the subject of when to apply, you can (could, if it's different now) also choose whether to receive your pension or to delay it for a year and get a slightly higher pension. 
Whether that's worth it or not is up to you, but it's an option worth exploring.


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## bikingdad90 (17 Oct 2021)

dodgy said:


> Yeah, it's definitely all about laziness.



Actually DWP workers are the opposite, they were one of the last workers to work from home, they stuck it out for months and only started working from home after outbreaks of Covid in the offices they worked at. Most workers are now been pushed to return to the office on a hybrid basis at least to help revive town centres and small businesses such as coffee shops and sandwich shops.

A lot of DWP work is also technical in nature (in the background) due to the ever changing government rules and often requires a full disclosure of information from claimants which often doesn’t arrive plus they are badly let down by very old systems that often crash. I feel for them, they do the best they can with what they have!


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## welsh dragon (17 Oct 2021)

Bloody hell. Can't you lot not bring arguements into a thread just for once.

Why not start your own thread on the other side about lazy (or not) workers. Ye God's.


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## dodgy (17 Oct 2021)

annedonnelly said:


> Yeah, that's the only reason I'm still working from home after 18 months. I'm just bone idle - the boss has no idea what I'm doing.
> 
> I don't work for the DWP so don't fret about me affecting your pension


Not sure if you're being sarcastic, but I definitely was. Sorry if my post has been misunderstood.


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## Chislenko (17 Oct 2021)

welsh dragon said:


> Bloody hell. Can't you lot not bring arguements into a thread just for once.
> 
> Why not start your own thread on the other side about lazy (or not) workers. Ye God's.




Thanks WD. I was dubious about putting my initial question on here in case it got moved to NACA. All I required was information from people who had gone through the process recently with the issues that some media outlets are reporting.

Like you I do not wish to get into a debate on the rights and wrongs of working from home and the work ethic of DWP employees.

Thanks to all who have constructively replied and as WD says can we take the arguments elsewhere.


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## Ajax Bay (17 Oct 2021)

PaulSB said:


> What I'm unsure of is do all the years have to be purchased at once or individually as the due date for each year approaches?


Paul - in broad terms, you can buy the extra years one after the other, in one day, or do so individually. The 'Pension Forecast' tells you how many years will make a difference (any more is wasted money!)


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## welsh dragon (17 Oct 2021)

Ajax Bay said:


> Paul - in broad terms, you can buy the extra years one after the other, in one day, or do so individually. The 'Pension Forecast' tells you how many years will make a difference (any more is wasted money!)




You have to be careful though. There have been stories in the news recently that show sometimes the extra payments you make sometimes make little to no effect on your pension payments. And paying the extra isn't worth it. It's a balancing act.


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## Ajax Bay (17 Oct 2021)

welsh dragon said:


> You have to be careful though. There have been stories in the news recently that show sometimes the extra payments you make sometimes make little to no effect on your pension payments.


I found the webpage very clear: just saying. For people like the OP who has worked since school as an employee (assumed) it's not an issue (over 35 years, see site for clear detail) but for those of us who've taken time out of the employed workforce for children/parents or self-employed or own company, buying extra years is often worth it, to assure the 'full' payment, when the time comes (aged 67 say).


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## annedonnelly (17 Oct 2021)

dodgy said:


> Not sure if you're being sarcastic, but I definitely was. Sorry if my post has been misunderstood.


Not at all - I knew exactly what you were saying. My dig was at the original comment about lazy people working from home.


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## ColinJ (17 Oct 2021)

Chislenko said:


> I'm definitely ok on years Paul, 46 bl--dy long ones I have paid in and never claimed a penny!!


Not necessarily! My sister worked for 48 years but does not have enough contributions for a full state pension because she was contracted out of the state pension for a number of years. 

She was looking at whether it was worth just paying the extra contributions, but has now got a part-time job working in a village shop so she will get the required missing NI contributions paid that way. 

She worked out if she had paid her missing contributions, she would have to live to at least 73 to get that money back. Since most of our family seem to live to our 80s or 90s, it would have been worth doing.


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## midlife (17 Oct 2021)

Just out of curiosity if you never worked and paid no NI would you get any sort of state pension?


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## ColinJ (17 Oct 2021)

midlife said:


> Just out of curiosity if you never worked and paid no NI would you get any sort of state pension?


You would probably get pension credit?

In which case, I think you might be entitled to other benefits which are not given to pensioners...

My sister used to work as a benefits adviser and she gets really annoyed talking about this kind of thing! (Work hard, pay your way, and get less than someone who didn't!)


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## postman (23 Oct 2021)

My £200 heating allowance letter came yesterday.


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## Chislenko (23 Oct 2021)

postman said:


> My £200 heating allowance letter came yesterday.



You're gonna need it with the way energy prices are going!!


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## welsh dragon (23 Oct 2021)

Chislenko said:


> You're gonna need it with the way energy prices are going!!




We can use it to buy more blankets.


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## Chislenko (1 Nov 2021)

My bilingual "Get Your State Pension" invitation letter arrived today.


Will do the online application tomorrow (having a day uptown on the beer today!)

Lets hope I make it to February so I can get something back 😄 and also pay more tax on my private pensions 😭.

Also looking forward to not being the only person on the bus who has to pay 🚌.


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## The Central Scrutinizer (4 Nov 2021)

ColinJ said:


> Not necessarily! My sister worked for 48 years but does not have enough contributions for a full state pension because she was contracted out of the state pension for a number of years.
> 
> She was looking at whether it was worth just paying the extra contributions, but has now got a part-time job working in a village shop so she will get the required missing NI contributions paid that way.
> 
> She worked out if she had paid her missing contributions, she would have to live to at least 73 to get that money back. Since most of our family seem to live to our 80s or 90s, it would have been worth doing.


My wife has decided to pay the extra contributions because she gets her state pension in 2023 and although working all her life fell short of getting the full pension because she worked for the NHS and they had opted out.
BTW i don't if anyone knows this but you don't have to take your state pension monthly.You can take it weekly or fortnightly if you want to.


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## Chislenko (4 Nov 2021)

The Central Scrutinizer said:


> My wife has decided to pay the extra contributions because she gets her state pension in 2023 and although working all her life fell short of getting the full pension because she worked for the NHS and they had opted out.
> BTW i don't if anyone knows this but you don't have to take your state pension monthly.You can take it weekly or fortnightly if you want to.




Didn't know about the payment options. I suppose most people take monthly as that is how we have been paid at work for many years.

The opting out part I find strange. I opted out for many years but when I went on the government site and fed in my NI number it told me I was getting the full £179 a week.

However it does estimate my COPE payment as £280 per month extra if I had not opted out.

The opt out pension I took out pays me £580 a month so it looks like opting out was a winner for me.


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## fossyant (4 Nov 2021)

I should get some of my private pensions from 55 - only 3 and a bit years away, OMFG. Surprisingly one scheme has gone up in value by over £10k in the year (no contributions going in there now). Probably all go in three years though.


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## PaulSB (4 Nov 2021)

fossyant said:


> I should get some of my private pensions from 55 - only 3 and a bit years away, OMFG. Surprisingly one scheme has gone up in value by over £10k in the year (no contributions going in there now). Probably all go in three years though.


I don't think that growth should be a surprise. I've seen £8000 growth in my pension pot since July and £7000 on a separate investment fund. In 2020 both of these recovered their value to above that pre-crash at the start of Covid.

If you have private pensions only three years from maturity it could be worth locking in the value now.


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## PaulSB (4 Nov 2021)

The Central Scrutinizer said:


> My wife has decided to pay the extra contributions because she gets her state pension in 2023 and although working all her life fell short of getting the full pension because she worked for the NHS and they had opted out.
> BTW i don't if anyone knows this but you don't have to take your state pension monthly.You can take it weekly or fortnightly if you want to.


I don't know about the weekly or fortnightly options but SP is not paid monthly it's paid four-weekly. The other point is as far as I'm aware the need to purchase extra years is not as a result of contracting out. My wife worked for the NHS and was contracted out but also retired at 60. The reason she has to purchase additional is because she will not have worked or made contributions for 6 years prior to reaching state pension age. It's not a question of having worked for "x" years but of having contributed up to state pension age.


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## ColinJ (4 Nov 2021)

PaulSB said:


> The other point is as far as I'm aware the need to purchase extra years is not as a result of contracting out. My wife worked for the NHS and was contracted out but also retired at 60. The reason she has to purchase additional is because she will not have worked or made contributions for 6 years prior to reaching state pension age. It's not a question of having worked for "x" years but of having contributed up to state pension age.


That is not correct!

As I mentioned above, my sister worked 1, 2, or 3 jobs continuously from the age of 15 to 63, with only 2 brief absences for maternity leave. She paid everything that she was supposed to pay but has ended up several years short of qualifying contributions because of contracting out. I have far fewer years of contributions than her but I DO have enough qualifying ones to get the full pension.



gov.uk said:


> *Valuing your National Insurance contributions and credits made before 6 April 2016*
> Your National Insurance record before 6 April 2016 is used to calculate your ‘starting amount’. This is part of your new State Pension.
> 
> Your starting amount will be the higher of either:
> ...


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## SpokeyDokey (4 Nov 2021)

ColinJ said:


> That is not correct!
> 
> As I mentioned above, my sister worked 1, 2, or 3 jobs continuously from the age of 15 to 63, with only 2 brief absences for maternity leave. She paid everything that she was supposed to pay but has ended up several years short of qualifying contributions because of contracting out. I have far fewer years of contributions than her but I DO have enough qualifying ones to get the full pension.



One of the frustrating things is that it is seemingly impossible to get any info' re the calculation involved to derive the contracted out deduction figure.

My S2P/SSP payments lifted my SP to (current projection due in 12 months time) to £13500 with £3000 lopped off re contracting out reducing it to £10500 pa. All figures approximate.

I tried a few years ago to find out how the deduction was calculated to no avail - it's not a calculation made available to the recipient I was eventually told.


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## Erasmus (4 Nov 2021)

Chislenko said:


> Didn't know about the payment options. I suppose most people take monthly as that is how we have been paid at work for many years.
> 
> The opting out part I find strange. I opted out for many years but when I went on the government site and fed in my NI number it told me I was getting the full £179 a week.
> 
> ...



Like you, I got a COPE estimate for the opted out years. However, as long as you've otherwise got enough qualifying years (fortunately I did), then you still get the full pension, it's only the shortfall in qualifying years/contributions that will actually reduce it. The COPE estimate does not necessarily correlate to any difference in your state pension, it's merely (I think) their calculation of what a privately invested pension will provide on those missing payments.

Seems like you got a good result on opt out pension though


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## Chislenko (4 Nov 2021)

Erasmus said:


> Seems like you got a good result on opt out pension though



Not forgetting the 25% lump sum on top of that monthly figure which you ain't getting via a state pension😊


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## PaulSB (4 Nov 2021)

ColinJ said:


> That is not correct!
> 
> As I mentioned above, my sister worked 1, 2, or 3 jobs continuously from the age of 15 to 63, with only 2 brief absences for maternity leave. She paid everything that she was supposed to pay but has ended up several years short of qualifying contributions because of contracting out. I have far fewer years of contributions than her but I DO have enough qualifying ones to get the full pension.



I'll firstly qualify the following by saying I'm talking about the "old" NHS pension scheme.

With respect Colin I feel you haven't correctly understood your own quote nor appreciated this discussion is age dependent. Contracting out is irrelevant in relation to having sufficient qualifying years because this term is appropriate to and only relevant to contracting out of SERPS or Additional State Pension. No one contracts out of the basic state pension but many people did both "contract out" and "contract in" to SERPS or Additional State Pension. "Additional" is the important word.

There was a point around 40 years ago when it became apparent paying SERPS was not necessarily a good deal and individuals could be better off contributing their SERPS element to a private pension. At this point individuals were able to "contract out" of SERPS into a private scheme to which the government also contributed. At the same time if at any point "contracting out" became a poorer option for the employee the pension provider was obliged to offer the employee the opportunity to "contract in" to the state pension.

For example any NHS employee contributing to the NHS pension scheme and paying SERPS, was automatically contracted out because the NHS scheme has always been better than Additional State Pension. If this ceased to be the case at any point the NHS pension provider would have been obliged to offer individuals the opportunity to "contract in." If one reads an NHS state pension, which I have, it shows the basic NHS pension plus the additional pension earned through "contracting out."

In my personal case I "contracted out" for several years but reached a point when my pension provider was obliged to tell me I would be better off if I "contracted in." Consequently I was able to build up a significant contribution to my personal private pension and after "contracting in" gained an Additional State Pension to add to the basic state pension well in excess of £2000pa.

No amount of "contracting in" or "contracting out" influences the basic state pension as this is dependent on when one was paying contributions. If one stops paying contributions five years prior to state pension then one is five years short and these have to be purchased to gain a full SP. I know this to be true for the very simple reason my wife is currently five years short as she retired five years prior to SP age. We have a quote from the DWP showing if she pays five years she will get the full SP.

The fundamental problem is people do not clearly understand the difference between the SP and other pensions. The SP is a state benefit we all become entitled to at state pension age and which is paid for by those still working and paying NI, any other pension is a money pot which the individual can use in many different ways. One is expected to pay NI up to state pension age and therefore to continue to contribute to the support of others, if one chooses to stop working and making NI contributions prior to state pension age then that individual will be short of contributions through having stopped paying them.


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## PaulSB (4 Nov 2021)

Chislenko said:


> Didn't know about the payment options. I suppose most people take monthly as that is how we have been paid at work for many years.
> 
> The opting out part I find strange. I opted out for many years but when I went on the government site and fed in my NI number it told me I was getting the full £179 a week.
> 
> ...


Exactly. This is precisely the point behind "contracting out" and "contracting in."


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## PaulSB (4 Nov 2021)

midlife said:


> Just out of curiosity if you never worked and paid no NI would you get any sort of state pension?


There are circumstances under which I believe one would. Whether or not one qualifies for a state pension in these circumstances would be dependent on the reasons why an individual never worked and paid no NI.


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## SpokeyDokey (5 Nov 2021)

This is all getting very confusing.

As I understand the system providing that you have 35 qualifying years you will get the full New State Pension. This ignores any contracting out/in circumstances.

If you have 35 qualifying years and stop working before your State Pension age you do not have to continue making NIC's until your State Pension age to retain your full entitlement.

In theory this could mean that providing you have 35 qualifying years then stopped working at age 51 your full New State Pension will be paid whenever you reach your State Pension age.

If this is incorrect could someone please link to the appropriate Gov' documentation.


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## ColinJ (5 Nov 2021)

SpokeyDokey said:


> As I understand the system providing that you have 35 qualifying years you will get the full New State Pension. This ignores any contracting out/in circumstances.
> 
> If you have 35 qualifying years and stop working before your State Pension age you do not have to continue making NIC's until your State Pension age to retain your full entitlement.


That is my situation. I got my 35 years in then stopped. I have it in writing that my _full _pension will start early in the NY.

As I said before though, my sister paid NI contributions for 48 years but will NOT get the full new state pension because contracting out meant that many of her payments don't qualify. 

Yes, she does get a private pension, BUT not what she was promised. She was told that she would get an X thousand pound lump sum and Y thousand pounds a year at the age of 60. Late in the day the government announced that, sorry, no state pension until you are 66. Oh, and X will now be reduced to a fraction of that. And... Y will be a lot less too. And to get those reduced payments, kindly carry on paying your pension and NI contributions for another 6 years...


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## PaulSB (5 Nov 2021)

ColinJ said:


> That is my situation. I got my 35 years in then stopped. I have it in writing that my _full _pension will start early in the NY.
> 
> As I said before though, my sister paid NI contributions for 48 years but will NOT get the full new state pension because contracting out meant that many of her payments don't qualify.
> 
> Yes, she does get a private pension, BUT not what she was promised. She was told that she would get an X thousand pound lump sum and Y thousand pounds a year at the age of 60. Late in the day the government announced that, sorry, no state pension until you are 66. Oh, and X will now be reduced to a fraction of that. And... Y will be a lot less too. And to get those reduced payments, kindly carry on paying your pension and NI contributions for another 6 years...



You were born after April 1953, as was I, and this is the starting point for calculating the new state pension. People born earlier have their pension calculated on the, old, basic SP. Everyone has their state pension confirmed in writing regardless of which rules it's paid under.

It might be a good idea for your sister to speak to a financial adviser because there are conflicting statements in your post. If she has written evidence of a legally promised level of pension she needs advice on how to claim it. I would say it's highly unlikely such a promise will have been made.

Your sister contracted out of SERPS not the state pension. The element which was contracted out will have been used for a private pension so should not be counted twice when calculating state pension. It may be that element has not performed well but that's a risk everyone who contracted out took. My understanding is everyone should have been offered the opportunity to "contract in" if the private pension was underperforming against the Additional SP. This is something she may need advice on. I'd be surprised if she wasn't given the option but if she can prove this she may have a case against the provider.

Your final paragraph may be confusing private and state pension. As regards the private pension a provider would not, or at least should not, promise a given amount of either lump sum or annual income. There will have been illustration of the benefits based on projected contributions and growth. The way this is presented hasn't changed in perhaps 40 years. If your sister has evidence she was promised a level of pension which is now not going to be paid she should be considering action against the provider. Your sister will be expected to continue paying the (private) pension contributions till she retires to achieve the forecast value. Private pension forecasts are automatically based on this date, it's the law. The actual, final, value of a private pension is only known when one takes the pension prior to this it's simply a pot of money which varies daily according to market forces and the level of pension this buys is determined by the market on the day the pension is taken (crystalised is I think the term).

The other aspect of the private pension on which your sister may want to take advice is how to access those funds. It's no longer a question of simply buying an annuity (pension) and she will have several options. It's her money and how she chooses to spend it is her decision alone. If I use my own case I have chosen not to purchase an annuity but to access those funds as and when I wish in cash. Prior to reaching SP age I used drawdown to take out cash equal to the Personal Tax Allowance. Now I only drawdown sufficient to bring my income, SP + drawdown, up to the PTA. This means I don't pay tax. If there is a year when I need more money I drawdown more cash and pay tax in that year only. If I had purchased an annuity I would be above the PTA and paying tax, unnecessarily, every year.

For the majority much of this is straightforward once understood. If your sister is not getting what she expected she needs professional advice to understand her entitlement and options. There are a lot of very good financial advisors out there.

The change to women's SP age was very badly handled and along with hundreds of thousands of others she has every right to be angry.


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## Chislenko (5 Nov 2021)

PaulSB said:


> The change to women's SP age was very badly handled and along with hundreds of thousands of others she has every right to be angry.




Isn't that just equality that women have fought for and demanded.

My wife was one of those affected (having to wait another 4 years to get her state pension) but understands that you can't pick and choose which equality you can have.

If the 60 / 65 had continued then men would be being discriminated against.


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## welsh dragon (5 Nov 2021)

Chislenko said:


> Isn't that just equality that women have fought for and demanded.
> 
> My wife was one of those affected (having to wait another 4 years to get her state pension) but understands that you can't pick and choose which equality you can have.
> 
> If the 60 / 65 had continued then men would be being discriminated against.


No one especially women have disputed that the state pension for men and women should not be the same. However it was established that out of something like 4 million women who were/are effected only about 1 million women received letters telling them about the changes. And it was a huge leap from 60 to 65 for them. 

I am also one of those effected and have had to wait an extra 6 years for my pension that I will receive in the first quarter of next year. I didn't receive any notification of the changes either.


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## Chislenko (5 Nov 2021)

welsh dragon said:


> No one especially women have disputed that the state pension for men and women should not be the same. However it was established that out of something like 4 million women who were/are effected only about 1 million women received letters telling them about the changes. And it was a huge leap from 60 to 65 for them.
> 
> I am also one of those effected and have had to wait an extra 6 years for my pension that I will receive in the first quarter of next year. I didn't receive any notification of the changes either.



To be fair WD the changes were first discussed in 1991 and the white paper drawn up in 1993 so with a view to it being phased in between 2010 and 2020 so adequate notice was given.

As to individual letters to those involved I can't say, but none of us have had an individual letter to state NI is being raised but we all know about it so it is my opinion, fwiw, that people did know about it but perhaps put it to the back of their mind.


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## Nebulous (5 Nov 2021)

The old state pension needed 30 years of contributions and is £137.60 per week. People who hadn't contracted out could build up an additional state pension from SERPS / additional pension, which tops out at around £220 per week. That applied and still applies to people who were retirement age before April 2016. 

The new state pension applies from April 2016 and requires 35 post 2016 years. It is currently £179.60 per week. 

Most people are under transitional rules - they have a bit of both systems. In 2016 a calculation was done for everyone under both systems and they were given the one that was most advantageous. 

If you had more than the starting point for the new pension already, then that is protected and you cannot increase what you had at April 2016. Paying more years is not necessary. 

If you have less than the £179.60 you have the chance to increase it by buying extra years if you have missing ones. You should take advice first, because some, particularly pre-2016 years may not be worth buying. 

Contracting out meant you paid less national insurance, on the basis that you would not require the additional pension because you had made your own arrangements. What many people who were contracted out and are not due to get the £179.60 per week do not understand is that if they are going to get over the £137.60 they are likely to be better off under the new system than they would have been on the old. People with a lengthy period contracted out are the big winners under the new system.


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## PaulSB (5 Nov 2021)

Chislenko said:


> Isn't that just equality that women have fought for and demanded.
> 
> My wife was one of those affected (having to wait another 4 years to get her state pension) but understands that you can't pick and choose which equality you can have.
> 
> If the 60 / 65 had continued then men would be being discriminated against.


You're correct it is a part of the equality women have fought for and demanded and the rough has to be taken with the smooth. Like @welsh dragon my wife didn't receive any notification of this but as you say she knew about it years in advance. The question of notification is a difficult one but on balance I feel the government/DWP could have saved an awful lot of grief for both themselves and those women concerned by sending out those letters. A few million letters at a very low cost would have been a far better option than relying on the media.

I do think though these women have been very poorly treated and believe these changes should have been phased in so the very real financial pain for some would be lessened. A method of making the change over 5 years rather than one could and should have been found. When my wife receives her state pension next autumn she will have waited six years longer than she would have expected.


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## welsh dragon (5 Nov 2021)

Chislenko said:


> To be fair WD the changes were first discussed in 1991 and the white paper drawn up in 1993 so with a view to it being phased in between 2010 and 2020 so adequate notice was given.
> 
> As to individual letters to those involved I can't say, but none of us have had an individual letter to state NI is being raised but we all know about it so it is my opinion, fwiw, that people did know about it but perhaps put it to the back of their mind.




I do agree . However It has been established that successive governments handled the whole thing badly .

Personally I don't think anything will come of the WASPI community as at the end of the day we are all responsible for making sure we have all the facts. And as they say ignorance is no excuse. I do feel sorry for those women who A didn't know about the changes for whatever reason and B are in bad health.

I do know of some men who sadly reached personable age only to die 6 months later.

There are lots of its and buts, but I should have looked into my pension sooner than I did so can't blame anyone accept myself. Luckily I was in a better position financially than some.


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## Chislenko (5 Nov 2021)

@welsh dragon 

I think we had best leave this here as we will get the thread shunted off to NACA.

At least both of us have something to look forward to next spring 😄

Happy spending when it does come 😊


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## ColinJ (5 Nov 2021)

PaulSB said:


> For the majority much of this is straightforward once understood. If your sister is not getting what she expected she needs professional advice to understand her entitlement and options. There are a lot of very good financial advisors out there.


She knows all about that and has been through it - she worked in benefits/advice!  

She did explain to me exactly what happened but I have a memory like a sieve these days so I can't remember all of the details. Let's just say that she was very unhappy about how things turned out, but she didn't feel that it could be taken further!

As for women's pension age... She was kicking off about that one time and I mentioned equality. She immediately responded with a statement that women had been doing the same jobs as men for less pay, and with much less chance of promotion. Then they typically took time out to rear kids, which further damaged their careers/financial prospects. The one perk they had was an earlier retirement age. Obviously, the ages had to be equalised, as did the pay, as did the promotion prospects, and men had to start helping more with child-rearing. The problem was switching from one system to the other so suddenly. Even if a woman had known in advance that it was going to happen, she often would still have been at a financial disadvantage compared to a man of the same age.


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## The Central Scrutinizer (5 Nov 2021)

PaulSB said:


> I don't know about the weekly or fortnightly options but SP is not paid monthly it's paid four-weekly. The other point is as far as I'm aware the need to purchase extra years is not as a result of contracting out. My wife worked for the NHS and was contracted out but also retired at 60. The reason she has to purchase additional is because she will not have worked or made contributions for 6 years prior to reaching state pension age. It's not a question of having worked for "x" years but of having contributed up to state pension age.


Spoke to my wife and she said the NHS and her previous job before that had opted out of SERPS so that she paid less NI and the NHS paid more to the private pension.When you opt in I suppose it’s the opposite.
You are right about the SP being four weekly instead of monthly.That will be paid that way automatically unless you contact them.
I decided to be paid weekly as that what I was used to when I was working.


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## Chislenko (6 Nov 2021)

Have to say despite the scare stories in the media my application looks to be going rather smoothly.

Got my initial letter last week with a code to claim. Went on line to do it and a few days later my letter came through confirming £179.60 per week and my first payment date of March 5th.

Let's hope it continues to be as plain sailing as it has been so far.


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## welsh dragon (6 Nov 2021)

Chislenko said:


> Have to say despite the scare stories in the media my application looks to be going rather smoothly.
> 
> Got my initial letter last week with a code to claim. Went on line to do it and a few days later my letter came through confirming £179.60 per week and my first payment date of March 5th.
> 
> Let's hope it continues to be as plain sailing as it has been so far.




Good news. I am expecting my letter within a couple of weeks as I will also start to receive my pension at the end of March. 

I heard in the news that they have now sorted out the pensions for all those who have been waiting months to receive it. Let's hope that is the case.


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## Nebulous (6 Nov 2021)

welsh dragon said:


> Good news. I am expecting my letter within a couple of weeks as I will also start to receive my pension at the end of March.
> 
> I heard in the news that they have now sorted out the pensions for all those who have been waiting months to receive it. Let's hope that is the case.



5000 people still waiting apparently.


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## welsh dragon (6 Nov 2021)

Nebulous said:


> 5000 people still waiting apparently.




That's the problem with news. Eveyrone tells you different things


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## Chislenko (6 Nov 2021)

welsh dragon said:


> That's the problem with news. Eveyrone tells you different things




Yes, I think it depends on the "agenda" of the reporting outlet / agency.


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## Nebulous (6 Nov 2021)

welsh dragon said:


> That's the problem with news. Eveyrone tells you different things



Sorry - I meant to include a link. Thousands still waiting for their state pensions due to claim backlog | This is Money


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## welsh dragon (6 Nov 2021)

Nebulous said:


> Sorry - I meant to include a link. Thousands still waiting for their state pensions due to claim backlog | This is Money




Thanks


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## midlife (6 Nov 2021)

The Central Scrutinizer said:


> Spoke to my wife and she said the NHS and her previous job before that had opted out of SERPS so that she paid less NI and the NHS paid more to the private pension.When you opt in I suppose it’s the opposite.
> You are right about the SP being four weekly instead of monthly.That will be paid that way automatically unless you contact them.
> I decided to be paid weekly as that what I was used to when I was working.



The NHS paid into a private pension,? Hard to beat the NHS pension as a final salary scheme.


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## Ajax Bay (6 Nov 2021)

Nebulous said:


> 5000 people still waiting apparently.





Chislenko said:


> Yes, I think it depends on the "accuracy" of the reporting outlet / agency.


FTFY


Nebulous said:


> Sorry - I meant to include a link. Thousands still waiting for their state pensions due to claim backlog | This is Money


'This is Money' is part of the Daily Mail, Mail on Sunday & Metro media group
Two lines into 'report': " yesterday [2 Nov], close to 400 overdue claims had still not been paid, and the department was in touch with 4,900 retirees who needed to provide more information."
So 400 not "5000" then.


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## PaulSB (23 Jun 2022)

Hard to know which thread to post this in so here goes. Some of you will know if an individual is short of State Pension contribution years it is possible to purchase these prior to taking the state pension up to the level required to receive the current full SP of £185.15 pw or £9627 pa. Generally speaking the cost is +/- £800 for each year one is short and for many people 3-4 years need to be purchased, the pay back time on this is around three/four years.

With inflation forecast to be 10% in September and the triple lock due to be reinstated for 2023/24 the SP will increase by +/-£962 which significantly shortens the pay back period. In my wife's case the payback period will reduce from 142 weeks (just short of three years) to 119 weeks. It's a hard to beat investment which gives a great return for life.

Triple Lock Reinstatement

Edited to correct payback period to 119 weeks.


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## gbb (24 Jun 2022)

cougie uk said:


> That's rubbish. I've heard of delays long before we even had a pandemic.
> I see no value in making people go into an office and make each other ill.



My perspective is it was recognised reasonably early on that having key people at home meant occasionally, sometimes fustratingly, the business doesnt flow as it did, people became somewhat remote, unobtainable, things got missed, decisions werent made as quickly. Those lapses do (did) cause problems.
I'm not sure Covid is a relevent excuse now for working from home either. We have worked right through, up to 1000 people a day , theres no social distancing now, all bets are off....we function quite normally, we're not losing people off sick any more than normal.

Youre right re problems pre pandemic, i seem to remember similar.


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