Anyone able to help me understand how many eligible years I have of NI contributions?

[likelysuspect]

On the NI contribution page I have 34 years not including this year, so by April that will be 35 years

That seems to be the eligibility for a full state pension (as it currently stands)

But it is also telling me that I contracted out of state pension payments at some point in the past but doesnt say when or how and doesnt indicate if this has affected my eligibility

Im looking at all this at the moment to see if it is feasible to not work for a period of time but am worried about NI contributions.

That does sound odd. Might you have inadvertently contracted out when you filled in your tax return?

Do you work or have you previously worked for the NHS or local government as that's often how people came to be opted out of SERPS? You still get the pension at pension age if you have 35 years of contributions, but it's capped and not the full amount.

It wouldnt have been then, I had a few years self employed but not many

I remember seeing old pension statements from the government, many years ago when the pension forecasts were different and I had a very high level of 'additional pension' but now the forecast is just a basic 'new state pension'.

I thought contracting out was when you're paying into a work pension, I pay into the LGPS, Ive never had a private work pension or private pension.

Yes local government, its the only pension Ive ever paid into and only fairly recently so not very much of it.

It says on my forecast I cant increase the forecast. The forecast is the full rate (as it currently stands)

So Im unclear about the contracting out and what this means

I also need to know if 35 years, which I will hit this year, will mean it doesnt matter if I dont pay any more NI contributions, will it affect that forecast in the future?

Have you looked at your state pension forecast? It will tell you if you will be eligible or if you would need to make additional contributions to get the full amount. https://www.gov.uk/check-state-pension.

It's not quite as simple as saying 35 years credit will get you the full state pension. It will be different for different people, depending on your situation, as the rules have changed several times over the years. I am in my sixties, have not paid 35 years NI and yet will get the full amount.

Yes Im looking at it now which is why Im asking the question

No where does it specify 'you have full eligibility' or 'you have paid in x years', I had to count out the years. I have 40 years of payments but 35 (by April) are full years.

It says I am forecast the full basic state pension and I cannot increase the forecast any more

But my question is, if I never made another NI contribution, would I still qualify for that forecast? How do I find out about the different situations and specifications?

I'm in a similar boat and contracted out for a time before that was ended and I was opted back in. I need another 7 years to get to my full NI and if I do that I'll get £230.25 a week. This is the full rate so it doesn't seem to matter that I contracted out? If I didn't do another 7 years it say I'd only get £188.23.

They are not going to say you have full eligibility or similar language, because the rules might change again in the future. They aren't making any promises.

I wouldn't stay in work just for the sake of the NI contributions. You could make voluntary contributions in the run up to your SPA to top it up if needed at that point.

LGPS would probably have been contracted out, but it may not matter.

When the new State Pension was introduced in 2016, everyone under retirement age got a “starting amount”. If this was lower than the new State Pension then every qualifying year after that you add a certain amount to your State pension entitlement until it reaches the amount of the new State Pension or you reach State Pension Age.

It’s explained in more detail here https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/your-new-state-pension-explained/your-state-pension-explained

If you have enough years after 2016 then having been contracted out will make no difference. Does it say your forecast is £230.25 a week?

I had a few years contracted out so in spite of paying NI for 40 years I still fell short. I paid about five years worth of extra conts to get the full pension.
You really need to speak to them to be absolutely sure

As long as you have 35 full years. That's all you need to get full pension.

That is not necessarily accurate. it depends on how many of those years were pre and post 2016, and whether you were contracted out.

The forecast online should be accurate. It’s very difficult to calculate yourself.

I retired a few years ago having contributed to LGPS for all my working life (over 40 years) and paid National Insurance for all that time (plus two other years). As contributors had been 'contracted out' for several years, I was not eligible for the full state pension. I made enquiries about topping this up several years before retiring but I was not permitted to do this. On a positive note, LGPS is a very good pension.

Yes thats the forecast.

If you want clarification you can call Future Pensions which is a government helpline. I spoke to them yesterday about a specific situation regarding my state pension which I'm due to get in 5 years and they were able to explain what would happen.

If you were contracted out it means that the contracted out contributions were added to whatever other pension scheme you were in at the time, thereby increasing the amount you get from the other scheme.

Then you don't need to worry about the contracted out part.

Presumably it says something like "Forecast if you contribute another year [or X years] before [date]". That's the bit you need to look at. If it says you only need one more year then you already have it, as it won't have counted 25/26 yet.

35 years is the rule of thumb but some people have slightly different treatment depending on age so it's best to focus on how many more years it says you need rather than trying to work it out yourself.

It is most likely SERPS related.

as others have said check your forecast amount and that will give you a clearer idea of the amount to expect in terms of a state pension.

Ignore the 35 years. That is only am exact number for people who started paying NI in 2016 or later; for everyone else the number of years needed for a full pension is individually calculated.

Ignore the contracted out thing. Virtually everyone affected by this who hasn't already retired has already made up the difference with their contributions since 2016, and it's all factored into the individual calculation above.

If it says you can't increase your forecast, then that's the only bit you need to know. You have sufficient years to qualify (under current rules) for the full state pension.

If you stop work now and pay no more NI contributions before pension age you will still get the full pension. If you carry on working you still need to pay NI as normal but it has no effect on your pension.

No it doesnt give any indication of 'this is a full contribution' or 'you need another five years' or whatever, it just says forecast.

Thanks this is helpful

I may well get another job but at the moment am wondering whether to become one of the 'economically inactive' as they like to say.

I consider myself economically inactive as I just do the odd bit of exam invigilating 😁

Yes this is the sort of thing Im wondering about, the odd bit of something here and there.

Pick up exam invigilating- couple of weeks in December or January depending upon the school then end of April through to mid June. It’s not full time and basically you pick up exam shifts of 2/3 hrs. Most schools will run a decent size team of invigilators and we probably earn about £1k a year after tax. Some invigilators I know work for 2 schools so they can fill their days during the exam season and universities also require invigilators at different times

This is really helpful, thanks