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Original poster

What is the point of paying NI for 35 years to get a full State Pension, when people who have never worked receive Pension Credit anyway?

212 replies

Blondiebeachbabe · 14/04/2026 16:42

I just cannot get my head around this. You have to pay National Insurance for 35 years, in order to receive a State Pension of £241 per week. However, if you have never worked (like my cousin), you will receive Pension Credit of £238 per week. So basically, having contributed for 35 years, means that you get an extra £3 a week. Woop de fucking doo.

Moreover, why did some people who didn't have the full 35 years, pay extra to top themselves up, when Pension Credit would have bumped them up to £238 anyway?

Not only this, but people on Pension Credit have access to things that people receiving the SP do not, such as :

Housing Benefit: Often covers 100% of your rent.
Council Tax: You may pay nothing at all.
Heating: Free Winter Fuel Payments and Warm Home Discounts.
Health: Free dental treatment and eye tests.
TV Licence: Free for those aged 75 or over.

Make it make sense!

OP posts:
Original poster
Blondiebeachbabe · 14/04/2026 17:29

ShanghaiDiva · 14/04/2026 17:24

What do you suggest as an alternative?

Show quote history

Making the gap bigger I guess. So people who have actually paid in don't feel like mugs.

OP posts:
Wanttohelp26 · 14/04/2026 17:25

I remember when Gordon Brown introduced Pension Credit. I am broadly in favour as a safety net for those who haven't managed to make full contributions. We don't want elderly people to be destitute. But since those claiming benefits, get given their National Insurance credit as part of their claim, it maybe shouldn't really be necessary, as those groups of people should have their full entitlement anyway.

ShanghaiDiva · 14/04/2026 17:24

Blondiebeachbabe · 14/04/2026 17:13

That's a good point about the SP not being means tested. Although, people keep saying that it should be (I disagree). I do have a private pension too. But it only became mandatory for employers to pay pensions in 2010, so there must be loads of older people who have no private pension, and despite working their whole lives, they will be receiving only £3 more than the person next door who has never worked. It doesn't seem fair at all!

What do you suggest as an alternative?

Fupoffyagrasshole · 14/04/2026 17:21

Eh because il receive my own private pension too which I can afford to pay a lot into because I work full time ! So when I retire I won’t be living off 238£ a week - il have way more than that and have a way better life because of it 🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️

also those people only getting the pension credits will have been broke all their lives surely if they never worked ! So how is quitting work to not pay ni helpful if you have no money to enjoy your life

you're making no sense

Melarus · 14/04/2026 17:13

National Insurance also helps to cover Jobseeker's Allowance, Employment and Support Allowance, Maternity Allowance and Bereavement Support Payment, as well as contributing to the NHS.

My friends and family have benefited from some of these without having hit retirement age yet, so I'm happy to keep paying NI.

Original poster
Blondiebeachbabe · 14/04/2026 17:13

That's a good point about the SP not being means tested. Although, people keep saying that it should be (I disagree). I do have a private pension too. But it only became mandatory for employers to pay pensions in 2010, so there must be loads of older people who have no private pension, and despite working their whole lives, they will be receiving only £3 more than the person next door who has never worked. It doesn't seem fair at all!

OP posts:
Monolithique · 14/04/2026 17:06

You get state pension whatever, even if you have savings, other pensions..
Pension credit is means tested.

oviraptor21 · 14/04/2026 17:05

You can use a benefit calculator to work out what your position might be.
https://www.gov.uk/benefits-calculators
Yes, you might be better off if you have nothing other than a state pension.

Don't forget you need to fund yourself until you get to state pension age though - and UC/JSA won't pay (in full) if you quit your job.

Benefits calculators

Find out what benefits you could get, how much you could get and how to claim

https://www.gov.uk/benefits-calculators

Shudacudawuda · 14/04/2026 17:02

Does this mean then that if you have no pension savings but have worked your whole life so far, you'd be better off quitting work before you reach the max. NI contributions to ensure you can get pension credit instead of state pension?

Beamur · 14/04/2026 16:58

Because you don't just work for your lifetime to get state pension? You get a better standard of living, different opportunities in life (and so on) someone who has never worked has probably had a very limited life.

SickandTiredofEverything · 14/04/2026 16:56

If you ONLY have a state pension, then yes, at best you are no better off and in reality likely to be worse off than someone who is eligible for pension credit due to other passported benefits. However, the benefit comes that SP is not means tested which means you will receive it on top of savings or private pensions so then it becomes advantageous including buying back missing years

P00hsticks · 14/04/2026 16:52

You only get Pension Credit if you have no other form of income though - I've paid several thousand pounds to top up my State Pension to close to the maximum because the fact that I also have a private pension means I wouldn't be eligible for Pension Credit.

Personally I don't have a wildly extravagant lifestyle but I wouldn't like to be having to exist on just Pension Credit in my old age, even with the fringe benefits that come with it.