Can my pension forecast be right? Am I reading it wrong?

[Maggiemargherita]

Does this mean I will get a full state pension with 3 more years of contributions? If so I don’t understand why. I’m 44.

To compare- I'm 44 and have 10 years left. 3 does seem short for someone our age.
But I'm confused because I have a 28 year history (1996-1997 to 2023-2024) and two of those years aren't full. So 26 fully paid in years with 10 left...am I contributing 36 years in total?

Not necessarily, anyone paying NI contributions before 2016 nay not need 35 years. Some need more and some need less.

Yes, you were probably contracted out for part of the pre 2016 earnings. The 35 year figure applies to anyone starting contributions from 2016. For people who were paying before then it could be more or less depending on circumstances.

You would get the pension paid until state pension age but that indicates that you will have paid all your contributions in three years. You need to pay 35 years contributions but some past contributions can be worth more than a year to avoid disadvantaging people when the system changed in2016

That's not correct

This a great thread, as was the other one.

I have checked mine. I am
48, started working after uni, age 21. Mine says I need to contribute another 3 years NI to get full state pension. Which puts me at 30 years contributions. I was a full
time carer for a number of those years.

DH needs to pay £1600. He worked abroad for years so didn’t pay NI here. Is it worth him paying it?

When you contribute enough, do your state pension contributions stop being deducted automatically?

Good question!

It’s a big difference isn’t it, it’s obviously not made clear when these changes come about. There must be loads of people my age in the same boat that just think it’s 35 years and that’s that.
and then those that were contracted out, did they have a choice? And are they disadvantaged or is it made up for via private pension? My DH certainly felt hard done by (as would I)

If you scroll down from your forecast, there should be an option to view your NI contribution history. Click on it and you will be able to see a list of all the years you've been credited with, if any of them are only partially credited and if there are any years where you can pay to top up to a full credit. It might make your situation clearer.

You carry on paying contributions until you stop working, the state pension amount received remains the same. After state pension age if still working the contributions stop.

Why do you have to keep paying into your state pension even after you’ve paid enough to receive the max amount?

It can’t be to prop up other people’s pensions, because everyone is responsible for making enough contributions to their own state pension.

Is the money siphoned off to be used elsewhere?

I got my SP in December 2023, I had 50 years of contributions and only just scraped in to getting the new full state pension as I had been contracted out during the years I worked in banking then in education.

No, you carry on contributing as long as you’re working, until the SP retirement age. I had 50 years of contributions up to the age of 66.

National Insurance doesn’t just pay for the state pension - it covers other things as well, that’s why you have to keep paying it.

www.gov.uk/national-insurance/what-national-insurance-is-for

You can't claim your state pension until you reach retirement age at 68, but you only need to make NI contributions for 30 years in between age 16 and age 68 (a span of 52 years) to get the full state pension. You have contributed 27 years so far. That doesn't mean you can stop contributing for the last 20 years if you are in work, you still need to pay NI if you earn enough, but if you can't work your state pension eligibility won't change once you have achieved those 3 years. This is entirely separate from any occupational pension contributions you are making.

He was probably 'contracted out' in the 1980s. If I remember correctly if you paid into a private or workplace pension you could pay less NI.

That was because the pension came in two 'pots' the basic pension and 'SERPS' which became the second pension, this was paid in addition to the basic pension.

So before 2016 you could use some of your NI contributions in to your private pension instead of SERPS.

The contracting out worked under the old system when you had the basic state pension and the additional state pension. Earnings over a certain amount were paying towards the additional state pension, and instead these contributions could be diverted to the private pension via contracting out.
The scheme these contributions were paid to had to provide at least as good of a benefit as the individual would’ve otherwise received from the state. But the aim was that they’d receive better. He might see guarantee minimum pension (GMP) on his personal pension documents.

Yes people largely were aware if they were contracted out, but typically it’s not very well understood. Hence now those people are approaching retirement there seems to be a bit of confusion.

Your forecast means you need +3 more years which can come from work or collecting your ‘stamp’ on certain benefits. However you can’t collect your state pension any earlier than state pension age.

There was a period of time where you were given a ‘stamp’ from 16 if you remained in full time education, although that stopped and is no longer the case. This essentially credits you those years.

I was contracted out and needed either 43 or 44 years, can't remember exactly but that seems similar to your DH, OP

I'm 66 so a similar age to him

When you contribute enough, do your state pension contributions stop being deducted automatically?

That would be a no!

Taxation paid for pensions or other state benefits or public services is not an imaginary personal piggy bank building up over the years to be cracked open when you retire. Your state pension will be funded by taxpayers, as your taxes are funding pensioners now.

It can’t be to prop up other people’s pensions, because everyone is responsible for making enough contributions to their own state pension.

We have an ageing population hence why economically we are in trouble. NI is paid forward. State pension age is now 68 for some & remember there are talks of mean testing...

What I don't get is this. If OP is 44 and needs 35 years contributions how can it be that she needs only 3 more years contributions from now. Which by my calculations means that she started contributing when she was 12 which can't be right.

But your habit seems to be to visit threads and post things that are incorrect or batshit

Money Saving Expert has detailed advice pages on this topic, it depends individual circumstances.

Visit there and see what they say.