Is this right about pensions/pension credit?!

[Cavalierchaos]

So imagine I'm in a situation where, when i reach state pension age, I have only paid in 10 years national insurance. This would mean I earn £58.24 minimum state pension.

I have some unpaid years of national insurance that I can pay for to boost my pension. This is what I was planning to do. Each year to buy is pretty costly however.

Or, I could just save my money and apply for pension credit which would automatically put up my weekly pension about to almost the maximum (£221.20).

If this is right...why would anyone bother buying back years of national insurance stamps to bump up their state pension?

IS this right?

You can’t avoid paying NI if you are self employed either. It will come on when you do your declaration and up you’ll have to pay something, even with the smallest revenu.
The only time when you can ask to not pay is if your income as self employed is below £5k for the year.

If you’re working, in any capacity, you’ll pay NI.

Off you pop then, @GranPepper

@RedRiverShore5 yes I think this is what my brain is getting at. There's no point paying those national insurance credits if it'll stop you getting pension credit. It's just a waste of money.

Thanks all, I think my question has been answered! So long as pension credit stays the same, there is no point paying off national insurance because the credit would bump up your pension anyway.

Getting the FULL new rate Pension, with sufficient contributions, is over the threshold for PC. The idea is to phase out Pension Credit. Of course, not everyone is fully paid in for the full new rate.

Depends if you're only planning to depend on your state pension. If so, then sure.

Personally I intend to have a private pension and savings so I'm not living on the bare minimum.

Personally I think Pension Credit will eventually be overhauled and phased out - but I think it's a fair old while off.

(I personally think UC will eventually be extended beyond Pension age to encompass what was previously Pension Credit - I think the changes in 2019 to mixed age couples rules etc were the beginning of this shift, and will allow the Gov to make huge savings if they align the rates up to be on par with "working age" benefits).

Check your state pension. You may see this as a long way off BUT An error has reportedly impacted hundreds of thousands who remained at home to look after children or relatives, resulting in underpayment of their State Pensions due to missing or incorrect Home Responsibilities Protection (HRP) a government scheme operational from 1978 to 2010, intended to safeguard the State Pension of parents/carers not working due to childcare or caregiving responsibilities.
HRP was automatically granted to those receiving Child Benefit / Income Support for caring for a sick or disabled person.
This was replaced by National Insurance credits in 2010 BUT if you are of an income where child benefit is not payable, you may not receive this either unless you register a claim.

Because they already have paid into and are receiving private pensions which mean they wouldn't get a handout from the government, despite contributing all their working lives.

My brother has just received his state pension, so a "new" one, and he gets pension credits because he does not have enough contributions and he has no other income. It is means tested, and he can have (at the moment) up to £10K in savings, but I think that is due to go down . There is a sliding scale. It is worth noting that those on pension credits get other benefits (you might be eligible for additional benefits like Housing Benefit, Council Tax discounts, Winter Fuel Payment, and free TV license. You could also get help with NHS costs, including dental treatment😂😅 and travel expenses.

There is one pension top-up that is only for the old "basic state pension", and that is the over 80s pension. It's done on a residence requirement (at least 10 years in the past 20), and no-one on the new state pension has reached 80 yet but the rules do say they won't be eligible.

Not so. My basic pension consists of a basic element, topped up by SERPS and state additional pension, neither of which qualify for the triple lock. I am on classic pension and I am nowhere near 80. There is a subtle distinction here that also affects WASPI women in that my husband is the same age as me, but on the new pension, so he gets the full increase

Ah sorry that's not what I was thinking about. My mother's got a small basic pension that includes SERPS equivalent and a top-up for delaying taking it for several years; once she meets the residence requirement (having moved back after decades overseas) she'll get a further top-up from the over-80s pension.

And I agree it's ridiculous all the things that don't count for triple lock increases!

[That's if she lives long enough; I'm presenting it as a "please don't worry about your money running out if you do live that long" situation.]

The NI paid as a self employed person doesn't count towards the state pension. Self employed compulsorily pay class 2 and class 4 NI contributions. The ones that counts for state pension are PAYE class 1 and voluntary class 3. If the self employed person wants a state pension they must pay class 3 as well as classes 2 and 4.

Class 2 counts towards state pension. It's class 4 that doesn't.