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.

I'm a year older than OP, I'm 45 and my forecast is showing I need to contribute another 6 years. I have 29 full years already, no gaps, so I guess I need 35 years in total even though I started contributions in 1995. I worked enough through uni years that I don't have gaps from that period.

I have a toddler so I'm not worried about my future contributions, I'll be able to claim NI credits through child benefit for another 9 years.

What would 221 pounds per week be worth in 2048? It’s not going to buy very much - it hardly buys anything today.

It increases with inflation

Thank you (and to everyone else who replied). That’s what I didn’t understand - are NI contributions split into state pension / other stuff.

Mine's very similar. Only a few more years to go and I've got 35 years of full contribution to draw full pension at...what will probably be 87 by then

It increases evey year. Due to go up to £230 in april

It increases with inflation

@rainbowunicorn thank you. I wasn’t aware of that. Enjoy it when you receive it. You’ve worked hard for it.

Sadly no. You continue to pay employees National Insurance at the same rate until you reach state retirement age. This is because National Insurance isn't a personal pot but rather is effectively just another tax, but you gain the entitlement to receive the state pension after contributing for a set number of years. Unless government decide to pass legislation to abolish the state pension, which they are legally entitled to do (though this would likely be political suicide).

Such a misunderstanding.

Contributions paid now are paying for today's pensioners. Not your future pension.

Similar to the OP, I can see in my Gov.UK Account “Forecast if you contribute another 2 years before 5 April 2044: £221.20 per week”

If I contribute for another 2 years and then stop working, I assume I still get this forecast pension in 2044?

As things stand at the moment yes.

She doesn't need 35 years as she started paying NI before 2016. She needs 30 years contributions.

I got NI credits for my time in sixth form and also for my first year at uni as I was still 18 until almost the start of my second year. So only missed out on 2 years contributions for my uni years. Benefits of a late summer birthday!

This is wrong. She does need 35 qualifying years to get the full SP. It changed in 2016 from 30 to 35 years, even if you started paying earlier.

I started paying NI in 1973. When I got my first forecast in 2014 it was 30 years, but it changed to 35 in 2016.

When they changed the system in 2016 they recalculated the amount of years needed for everyone who had already started paying NI years. I have no idea what the calculation was but from my understanding they worked out how many years your contributions up til then would count for under the new system and therefore how many you needed to get to 35 "new system years". Some years under the old system were not worth a full year under the new one, but others were actually worth more.

So everyone's calculation at that point was different and why some people needed to pay in more than 35 years of contributions, where some people might need less (my statement suggests I need just 32 though I don't know why some of my pre 2016 years were worth more).

So the only way to know what the changes meant for an individual, or for anyone to work out how many contributions have or need, is to check their statement.

This is not correct. Everybody who had a NI before 2016 had recalculation done. The number of years needed could be anything from 29 to more than 40.
The 35 years applies to anyone starting from 2016. So you can't just assume 25 years is correct for everyone.
It would have just been coincidence that you needed 35 due to your own personal circumstances.

@rainbowunicorn you have given a lot of advice on this thread. Are you able to confirm please that you are a registered independent financial adviser or are an actuary working in the pensions industry please?

Whether she is or not, the information given by rainbowunicorn is correct.

The only way to know is to log on and see your own statement and call them if you have questions.

Are you? The statements come with caveats. Mine says the max and I cannot increase it. It then says it's a forecast and may differ if I have been contracted out. My NI record does not indicate the contracted out years and I do not have payslips from the 80s/90's. There were also different definitions relating to the contracted out schemes. Inwas contracted out 2004 to 2016 in the LGPS. I may have also been contracted out 1987/1989, 1991 to 1993, 1994 to 1996.

At one point a cope amount was quoted and I could work back from that that if I worked to 65, I would have a full entitlement. However, I didn't make a note of the cope amount and it has now disappeared.

I shall try to find time to ring the helpline on Monday. I am not persuaded I shall find out the definite answer until I actually claim my pension.

I'm 46 and have 2 more years to pay after this one

looking back I got 3 years for sixth form, missed 3 for university and have worked or received CB credits ever since. I think that puts me at needing 31 years in total. I never contracted out, so I assume some of my pre 2016 years are worth more. It's a very complicated subject!

Make sure you top up with voluntarily contribtions before you retire,
this is a no brainer in terms of spend vs what you’ll get in terms of a guaranteed income .
its probably a bit too soon to do this yet, unless you absolutely know you’ll never pay any more NI contributions ….but a simple and cost effective thing to do.

I found them really helpful to get to bottom of a question I had. I got a call back once they looked into it the next day.
But make a pot of tea and find a comfy seat while you are in the phone queue, it’s a long wait when I called last year!

What has that got to do with anything? If you take the time to actually go on to the government website, all the inormation is on there. It is just a case of reading and understanding. You don't have to work in the industry to understand, you just have to be able to process the information.

I have. I don't agree with some of what you have ventured.