Pension / NI Contributions help

[DogsAreAGirlsBestFriend]

I watched the Martin Lewis show yesterday where he advised people to check for gaps in their NI contributions in order to receive full state pension.
I did this and I have three years where I do not have the full NI contributions. These three years are between 2006 and 2017 for which he mentioned the deadline to top up is in April this year (so time is ticking)…

So, to my question for anyone knowledgeable - would I be able to claim NI credits for these three years as these were the years I was at university, so in full time education just working a PT job to get me by? Or is it more likely I’ll need to top these up voluntarily?

I will try and call the Future Pensions Centre but they are very busy (unsurprisingly).

Thanks in advance to anyone that can advise.

How old are you?

@OhNoNotThatAgain 35

Students in higher education don’t get credits.

However before you pay work out how many more years you need to contribute to get maximum entitlement versus how many years you have to do that. Then decide if it’s worth buying that 3 year period.

I doubt it. I've never heard of people being credited during Uni years, usually just if caring for children and claiming child benefit or claiming carers allowance or other sickness benefits.

What does your actual strategy pension forecast say?

Okay, thanks all. It’s not clear about being in full time education so wasn’t sure, so I’m assuming it’s a no.
So now it’s working out if paying the extra is going to be worth it… :)

You only need 35 years of qualifying contributions to get the new state pension and you have got another 30 years ahead of you to get them. Martin Lewis and others like him are scaremongering. It's only people that are nearing retirement age and have gaps in their NI record that need to look into whether to pay for missing years. In the vast majority of cases it's not necessary.

@Fizzadora Can i ask a follow up ( I'm not the OP ).

I'm 55 this year and my account tells me I have 25 full years and it also tells me I need to contribute another 6 years ( which I will do, plan to retire at 62 or 63 ) to get the max £185.15 / week.

Clearly that doesn't add up to 35 full years of contributions. Do you know why that is?

During the broadcast yesterday a 49 year old with terminal cancer asked what would happen to her pension.
There were three pension experts who said there’s no inheritance tax but her beneficiaries will have to pay income tax.
Not unless she makes it to 75 - which is unlikely if she is terminal.
I mean really you shouldn’t put such wrong stuff out on TV.

It's also because if you are older you have to have more than 35 years.
I am 64 and have 42 years of conts before 2016 ( started working at 16) but it's still not enough. I have just paid £4600 in order to get my max pension.

If you check, you will find that you need 35 years' worth of NI contributions in order to get a full pension, so if you look at the number of qualifying years you have already, plus however many years you expect to be working and paying contributions between now and your retirement, you might not need to top up anyway.

My 3 years at uni say zero, even though I worked PT

This year I have completed 35 years of National Insurance contributions & my state pension forecast advises that I've reached the maximum, hurray !

As I still work FT, I will still be paying tax & NI
You don't receive extra for paying more than 35 years into the system

I assume your state pension age will be 67 or 68, so you have plenty of time to add.

You don't need an accountant, you can look up your own NI record yourself
It will show you how much you have paid per year
You can also receive NI contributions via some benefits too if you don't work

www.gov.uk/check-national-insurance-record

www.gov.uk/check-state-pension

I don't understand why @Silversalt says her 42yrs isn't enough?

"42 years not enough"

Because you can pay full years or partial years or nothing

If you log in yourself
It shows you exact amounts per year & it will say partial or full

My 42 years were full
Copied from Gove website.
Show your National Insurance number
You have:
42 years of full contributions
1 year to contribute before 5 April 2023
7 years when you did not contribute enough

Silversalt, I see that you are older than myself, so perhaps the state retirement rules are different for the number of years NI contributions.
You must have been affected by the change of retirement from 60 to 66 too 😥

I am in my early 50s
I believe my state retirement age has increased from 65 to 67/68 for people my age

@Silversalt - did you get advice before paying extra? If you are 64 now (so qualify for new state pension at 66) and have already paid 42 full years NI you definitely did not need to make additional contributions. You only need 35 full years for the new state pension. Even if it says there were 7 years when you did not contribute enough, there are 42 years when you did. I hope you can get that money back

Absolutely and I think it’s a bit of a con! I had 38 years service in total, yet my forecast still listed four years where i could make additional contributions. Luckily I checked so was sure i needed 35 years but some people might be confused by the information and think they needed the extra payments to get the full pension.

I’m sure I read that you cannot get back extra payments, they advise you to speak to an advisor before making a payment.

My actual pension that I receive is lower because as a teacher I was contracted out and paid a slightly lower NI rate so don’t receive the additional pension payment, I get about £145 a week, not £185 ( or whatever it is)

And I forgot that while the gvt do not tax the SP, it does add to my overall income so additional tax is now taken from my teachers pension, making my SP worth £116!

I have a 3 year gap from uni and the same age, but not worried, I will more than surpass the minimum amount! I have a a good employer pension so I'm not paying for any gaps that will have limited benefit and likely not needed at all.

Yes I did get advice, it's all available online and I can see my pension forecast. Each of the extra years I've paid gives me just over £5 a week extra pension up to a maximum of £185. I can't remember the exact figures but without the £4600 I paid I would only get about £150 a week. So it pays for itself if I live 3/4 years.
I also spoke to the future pension service, the government body who advise specifically on this subject.
I think the rule change made it much easier for younger people to get enough years in.

This. ^

I mean really you shouldn’t put such wrong stuff out on TV

That was about private pensions not state?

Yes, it was about a personal pension.