State Pension Changes NI Contributions

[Pat "5mph"]

Maybe no warning in the form of a letter, but it's been known since the 90s that women's pension age was being aligned with men's so not exactly a surprise.

The warning was all over TV for years

Sorry, but hearsay is not exactly an official letter though, isn't it?
Imo there should have been a DWP official notice a few years before the new rule was going to be in place.
Retirement is a big life event, most of us like to plan for it.

 

[neil_merseyside]

Sorry, but hearsay is not exactly an official letter though, isn't it?
Imo there should have been a DWP official notice a few years before the new rule was going to be in place.
Retirement is a big life event, most of us like to plan for it.

Whatever

 

[rualexander]

Sorry, but hearsay is not exactly an official letter though, isn't it?
Imo there should have been a DWP official notice a few years before the new rule was going to be in place.
Retirement is a big life event, most of us like to plan for it.

I didn't get a letter telling me mine was changing from 65 to 67 but I've known about it for years

 

[Deleted member 26715]

Sorry, but hearsay is not exactly an official letter though, isn't it?
Imo there should have been a DWP official notice a few years before the new rule was going to be in place.
Retirement is a big life event, most of us like to plan for it.

My sister was caught the same way, there was talk it was going to happen but not exactly how, then with less than a year to go she was advised she wouldn't get it for several more years

Whatever

Grow up

I didn't get a letter telling me mine was changing from 65 to 67 but I've known about it for years

Are you sure? I did from 65 to 66.5

 

[rualexander]

Are you sure? I did from 65 to 66.5

100% positive

 

[rualexander]

My sister was caught the same way, there was talk it was going to happen but not exactly how, then with less than a year to go she was advised she wouldn't get it for several more years

There was a bit more than talk about it, it was in the Pensions Act 1995 that it would be done in stages between 2010 and 2020, although this timescale was slightly accelerated by the Pensions Act 2011 changing the completion date to 2018

 

[Deleted member 26715]

100% positive

Do they have your current address?

 

[rualexander]

Do they have your current address?

Yes, been here for 20 years

 

[Buck]

I”ve got 37 full years but this does not give me a full State Pension. (Information to end of 2021/22)

I have one year that is not “full”. My accountant tells me this is due to HMRC starting in 2015 to collect NI payments through self assessment rather than the previous direct debit method.

I‘m waiting for an update on my overall position once the above is sorted to see what else I need to do which I believe (according to the gov.uk site) is a further two years of NI contribution to get to the maximum (so a total of 40) which ties in nicely with my planned retirement date!

 

[PaulSB]

Ladies pensions did phase in, over many, many years just the same as the 65-67 change was/is phasing .

To "phase in" such a change it would be spread over a number of years with payments on a pro rata basis.

An overnight change from age 60 to 66 is not phasing in a change.

The warning was all over TV for years

You're right the changes were reported across all media for several years.

 

[rogerzilla]

From another forum: "What do we want? Equality! No...not like that!"

 

[rualexander]

To "phase in" such a change it would be spread over a number of years with payments on a pro rata basis.

An overnight change from age 60 to 66 is not phasing in a change.

It wasn't an overnight change from 60 to 66 though was it?
It was a phased change between 2010 and 2018.

 

[yello]

I retired early 15 years ago. Since then, I paid voluntary contributions (filled some gaps and bought new years as time went on) until 2013/14 when I stopped as I'd reached just short (£120pa) of the max possible SP. I could of course buy another year (at £800) to get to the max but it I decided not to. My state pension forecast shows me as having 30 full years. I'm astounded in honesty, can't believe I got to (pretty much) full SP entitlement by the age of 52.

I have no idea how that's been worked out, and I have spoken with them on a couple of occasions and been assured it's correct. I even have it in writing as I'd gotten that paranoid about it! I check my forecast every year (printed and filed) and it has never decreased, only ever changing in line with pension regulations. I haven't worked a (paid) day since 2007 and won't until my state retirement age in 5 years time.

If I'm supposed to work until SP age (to receive a full SP) then it has never been indicated to me, neither verbally nor on any of the numerous forecasts I have since done.

 

[yello]

It wasn't an overnight change from 60 to 66 though was it?
It was a phased change between 2010 and 2018.

Not overnight, no, and I recall it being phased in. That said, it did cause difficulty for some, (my sister-in-law found herself in a bit of a weird, Kakaesque situation on which I could elaborate) and it is the cause of ongoing complaints (google WASPI) I do think it could have been handled better.

 

[Mr Celine]

You’re not paying into a pension pot from which you will later withdraw.

Your current contributions are paying the pensions of those people currently in receipt of the SP. And when it comes time for you to draw your SP, that cash will come from workers paying their NI (some of whom will, similarly, then be contributing beyond the required 35 years).

You've got closer than anyone else on this thread but not quite there.

This is a cycling forum. We're all aware (or should be) that road tax / VED or whatever doesn't pay for roads. It's just another tax.

Roads are paid for out of taxes raised by the government, which includes, for example, VED, fuel taxes, VAT, income tax, capital gains tax and national insurance contributions.

The state pension is paid for out of taxes raised by the government, which includes, for example, VED, fuel taxes, VAT, income tax, capital gains tax and national insurance contributions.

NI is just another tax. Arguably very unfair as it is levied on earned, not unearned income and the marginal rates are greater for lower paid workers.

NI contribution records are simply a method of calculating entitlement to certain 'contributory benefits', of which the state pension is only one, though since 2010 the value of the others has declined significantly or disappeared altogether.