To be shocked if this is true . State pension and benefits …?

[Springtimesoo]

I have worked all my life apart from
4 year degree( 3 year plus prof qualification )
and
a period at home when I had 2 dc under two and we could not afford nursery fees.

have just checked my pension forcast Which says that although I have paid 35 years in full , i will not get a full pension .

it seems that to get a full pension i need to pay just over 3k .

my friend , who is by choice long term unemployed. ( long story) says that she will get a full pension as she is on benefits .

how is that fair ? Its not true is it ?

I had nearly 45 years NI contribution when I was due to receive my state pension. However, I did not receive the full amount (and enquiries after receiving a forecast a few years earlier indicated it couldn't be improved). This was due to my scheme (LGPS) being contracted out for many years. I was surprised at the time but had to accept it.

This explains why (taken from a LA website):

If you have paid into the LGPS between 6 April 1978 and 5 April 2016 and reach State Pension age after 5 April 2016, the amount of new State Pension you receive will be reduced, in respect of this period, to reflect the fact that you have paid a lower rate of National Insurance contributions (due to the LGPS being contracted-out of the additional State Pension). If this applies to you, you are unlikely to receive the full amount of the new State Pension but this will depend on your individual National Insurance record and how many qualifying years you have after April 2016.

But it says that your forecasted to receive the full amount. The amount underneath is what you’ll get if no more contributions are made.

This is the second histrionic post I’ve seen on the same subject in the past couple of weeks. If you have long enough to contribute before you retire you’ll be fine and your forecast says that you will be fine.

What do you actually think someone on benefits would do when they retire if they don’t receive a pension?

I don’t understand this. Do you not just have to pay 35 full years in the 51 years between 16 and 67?

You can use the gov.uk website to check if you were contracted out: www.gov.uk/contracted-out

Are you near to pensionable age?

I was contracted out but I still have 25 years until SPA and only need 10 years of contributions according to my forecast.

I've lived in UK for 31 years.
I was SAHM for 8 years.
I worked part time a lot of the other 24 years.
I presume that claiming Child Benefit isn't what thread is moaning about. It's the only benefit I claimed.
Somehow I have a full pension entitlement already.
Says the Govt Gateway. Not sure how, but maybe my situation isn't fair either.

If you have several years contracted out, they won't count towards state pension. You can find out about your own situation by going onto government website. I'm 61 and I have enough years despite being contacted out for many years. You only need 35 years. Most people will work for more years than that before they retire.

I'm not sure what went wrong with the previous link. Here it is again: www.gov.uk/contracted-out

Just wait until you need additional care from the local authority.

Because my dad worked his entire life and paid into a private pension he wasn't eligible by a few pounds for any state funded care when he developed MND. My parents weren't rolling in it by any stretch but that little bit he had paid extra for excluded him from any support at all.

Whereas the local scam merchant (one of many) who know how to play the system better than a virtuoso can play a concerto got everything funded for his "mobility" issues...which didn't really fucking exist but he had the stuff installed and his home remodelled to help keep up the pretense.

So my disabled mother and I half killed ourselves caring for dad as his body failed him day by day. I'm still fucking furious about it.

Exactly this. You get two pensions. The contacted out one and the state pension.

My pension forecast used to give both, an approximation of the contracted out part alongside the actual amount of state pension. This has now disappeared.

I suspect you contracted out your pension, it was common then to contract out surps- you will have a private pension with that money in. I need to work 37 years to get a full pension as a consequence (or voluntarily pay ni)

I'm also not sure how that's possible. My earnings are now made up of salaries and dividends and I only earn a salary of around £9,000 a year. I "pay" NI, but at a rate of 0%. My NI history is showing 28 years of full contributions, even though six of those have been £nil.

My pension forecast is the full £185.15.

The rules changed in 2016 so nobody is now contracted out - but a lot of workplace pensions were based on contracted out

Checked on my gvmt gateway account.. so I get a prize if I’m 37, did a Uni degree, had three kids and still have 19 years full contribution?
I’m pretty knackered though…

People on benefits get their 'stamp' for NI contributions and thus full state pension. It doesn't seem fair to me either. I think they should get a reduced amount.

It did for a long time way before UC came into play, by then the long term feckless know all the ploys to keep claiming, I’ve seen it in my family, my sister, never worked, always doing courses supported by a partner, until dumped,and repeat, then too sick to work with all sorts of ailments, getting full pension now, government need to stop this piss take! Imagine if everyone did the same!

from what I gather if you dont quality for state pension (as in my mothers case) she will be eligible for pension credit although anyone feel free to correct me if I am wrong.

Exactly. Thank you.

I do two volunteer jobs a week.

If you were contracted out those contributions will have been paid into a pension scheme, either your employers scheme or a third party private pension scheme, either way you will receive a pension from this on top of your state pension.

I was contracted out for a while but also have 35 qualifying years so I'm fully paid up, but it was good reminder to check. Thx🙂

@HurryShadow

As long as you earn over the minimum ni per month you get credit, even if you pay zero, I'm in that category too. You also get credit if you get child benefit for a child under 12, certain benefits or underlying entitlement to even if you don't take the money. It's a reason to always claim what you are entitled to (donate the money to charity if you don't need it)

Oh I am confused. I on the government Gateway and it says I have 34 years when I click on the national insurance record but it doesn’t say a forecast amount of money. Am I looking in the wrong place??

That's because you earn over the NI lower limit, but less than the limit where it's actually paid. You get an NI credit for the year despite not contributing.

I had a huge amount of 'additional state pension' I assume that's not relevant now under the 'new state pension'. I think Im worse off. I started paying into the LGPS from october 2014

And this is why you should never seek advice regarding benefits on AIBU. Always one person spreading misinformation.