AIBU to think claiming two state pensions seems unethical?

My husband and I both worked in the UK, making contributions, before we emigrated. We're entitled to it - why wouldn't we collect it?

I wrote about this on another thread, but thought I'd start my own as it irks me and I'm wondering if IABU.

My parents emigrated from the UK in their early/mid thirties and have never lived in the UK since. They are now late 60's. My Mum told me recently that both her and my Dad are claiming a full UK pension, in addition to a full pension in the country them emigrated to. They don't need this money, but she seemed quite smug about how they can 'double dip' and live the Life of Riley while sitting on a load of money, rental properties etc. I told her it seemed a bit unethical to me, but she didn't understand my viewpoint at all.

How is this possible? She said that they only had to pay their (national insurance?) for a period of time after moving, to then be eligible for the full UK pension on retirement? Can someone explain to me if this is correct, as I half think they've scammed the UK system somehow!

Voluntary class 3 NI contributions are about £240 quarterly , so for both of them that would have been £1600 per year . Class 2 is a lot less £150 ish per year but it depends what they did before they moved as to which they had to pay

It won’t happen, politicians are too chicken to go after anything to do with pensioners. They’ll just take more money off poor people.

£5k for two years seems very expensive. I paid voluntary contributions from 1995 onwards and it was about £600 per year then.

£200 per year? I wish, cost us over £5,000 to get a full state pension for the nearly two years my husband lost after taking redundancy due to ill health and that was quite a few years ago. Perhaps topping it up was cheaper years ago, its not now.

It's a loophole. Work in UK for a few years, then pay something like £200 a year to get full state pension from the UK that you left 30+ years earlier. It's an absolute disgrace and I could hardly believe it when I first heard it. But it's all true.

Youve grossly misrepresented it.
you have to work and pay NICs then whilst you are an expat you pay voluntary NICs its around £900 per year now if you pay on time. You can pay up to six years late but it goes up every year. You still have to have 10 full years to get any state pension and 35 full years to get the full UK state pension, plus in many countries it’s frozen. The amount you get when you claim at 67 stays the same, there is no triple lock or increase at all. There are expats in Canada on full uk state pensions that are £20 a week.

So you want it to cover getting a state pension, PLUS use of public services?

I wrote about this on another thread, but thought I'd start my own as it irks me and I'm wondering if IABU.

My parents emigrated from the UK in their early/mid thirties and have never lived in the UK since. They are now late 60's. My Mum told me recently that both her and my Dad are claiming a full UK pension, in addition to a full pension in the country them emigrated to. They don't need this money, but she seemed quite smug about how they can 'double dip' and live the Life of Riley while sitting on a load of money, rental properties etc. I told her it seemed a bit unethical to me, but she didn't understand my viewpoint at all.

How is this possible? She said that they only had to pay their (national insurance?) for a period of time after moving, to then be eligible for the full UK pension on retirement? Can someone explain to me if this is correct, as I half think they've scammed the UK system somehow!

Youve grossly misrepresented it.
you have to work and pay NICs then whilst you are an expat you pay voluntary NICs its around £900 per year now if you pay on time. You can pay up to six years late but it goes up every year. You still have to have 10 full years to get any state pension and 35 full years to get the full UK state pension, plus in many countries it’s frozen. The amount you get when you claim at 67 stays the same, there is no triple lock or increase at all. There are expats in Canada on full uk state pensions that are £20 a week.

More like £900 for each 'incomplete' year, but yes, you definitely get out more than you pay in

I’d like to hear anyone justify how it’s fair to live here for only 5 years, pay a few hundred quid in for another 5 years and then take over £12k every year for (usually) decades. I don’t think anyone would be able to argue it’s ethical, even though it’s legal.

But I checked in 2019 and couldn’t go back further than 7 years? I don’t understand how that was possible?

There was a time you could go back 19 years to 2006, and my sister chose self-employed which is a lot cheaper. That window ended last year. She’s been working about 6 years now so I’d imagine she paid for 14 = £2800.

It’s £900 a year. And you can only go back 7 years!

I started work at 17, had children, went back and now just have two years to go to qualify (early 60s). My sister was in education till 21, went travelling and lived in Asia until 10 years ago. She’d never had a job in this country until she started working about 6 years ago and has now “filled-in” many years - she said about £200 per year. I’m pretty sure when I checked my history recently I’d been paying over £1000 per year in NI early 1990s. I love my sister but it’s hard not to feel I’m boring, slogging away. She’s just more astute than me! I lost one year’s contribution because of 6 weeks not paid when I went on maternity leave (always been PAYE) in 1996 but hadn’t realised. At least I only have 2 years to go (but will of course continue after that). Maybe I’m crazy but I do like to see “NI contribution” on my payslip!

I understand where your coming from however the department that pays it is called the future pension centre.

They also give out pension statements so the word pension is still a very valid and used term.

There's just so much wrong with our benefits system . Needs a complete overhaul. And people are just happy to keep taking because they can even when they don't need it. The greediness just makes me sick.

What I’ve seen is people living abroad for many years, then coming back here in their retirement and claiming pension credit as their state pensions are so low.
And they also got given social housing despite barely ever working here.

More like £900 for each 'incomplete' year, but yes, you definitely get out more than you pay in