Future Pension Forecast

[StevieNicksfan]

I phoned the Future Pension Forecast people this morning and asked if they could tell me what my forecast for the state pension currently is. They said they couldn't tell me any figures over the phone but they could post a forecast out to me. I now have wait approx 7 days for this and, without sounding stupid, I just wondered what exact information this will contain? I really wanted a breakdown of the national insurance contributions I have paid over the years, particularly to find out if there are any years I haven't paid enough and could buy back. Has anyone received a future pensions forecast through the post and could they please tell me what information it contains? I can't access the information online as I don't have the relevant identity documents.

I’m not sure why you’re struggling with ID? Surely you have NI number and birth certificate? What else do they need for “government gateway”? What’s the issue you’re having?

I go online, and info comes out in standard form, so assume they’ll just send you this in post. In it you can see the full NI contributions you made each year, gaps or incomplete years, and projections on pension and advice if you can improve it , eg how many missing years and what it will cost to fill as voluntary contributions

but really sort out your gov gateway access issue as you NEED this for so many things these days

before you pay anything to improve it, you need to call them again to confirm the calculation and what voluntary payments you want to make ( be careful paying at wrong time can mean voluntarily contributions don’t improve your forecast so check and keep record of conversations). They can then pass you to HMRC on the call to make actual payments

they’re very helpful once you get through , it’s the waiting to get through that takes stamina, a pot of tea and a good book right now 🤷🏼‍♀️🤣

@Appleofmyeye2023 thanks for the reply. The id they require to open a government gateway account is either a driving license or passport and unfortunately I have neither. I have birth certificate, national insurance number etc but this is not enough for them for online purposes.

Jeez, that’s bad. Didn’t realise that . Loads of folks don’t have either of those.
lid think they’d send you what you see on screen then, standard format, with info I stated.

@Appleofmyeye2023 yes, I desperately tried to open a government gateway account but because I've had to surrender my driving licence for medical reasons and my passport went out of date years ago and I never renewed it as I don't holiday abroad anymore. So, I'm absolutely stuffed and I'm sure there must also be others without these identity documents.

My OH was unable to register for Gov Gateway for a number of years as at the time they had neither passport or photo DL (just the old green paper DL). Got sent a written pension forecast on request but on-line was a no go.
The alternative documents were obscure and equally unavailable. Mobile phone contract was one (we are both PAYG).

When we moved house last year and had to apply for photo DL the issue was resolved.

I don't have a passport or photo driving licence but I was able to open a gateway account by verifying my ID using ID off my P60. It asks for very specific information and then obviously links it with their own HMRC records.

The letter you get will just give the amount you can expect to receive at this time. If it’s below the £203 per week, then you know you have missing years. My brother got a letter last year as he doesn’t have internet.

It also tells you how many qualifying years you have left.

@Mindymomo that's exactly what I was wondering so thanks. How did he then find out which years were missing if you don't mind me asking?