Retiring

[flook]

I'm puzzled. Why is your state pension being reduced? The state pension is fixed (based on how many years you've paid in) and is not means tested. You could be on £200k a year in your private pensions and you'd still get the same state pension. What am I missing?

Not sure, the reduction may be because when I applied for the forecast I had just under 35 years contributions? Maybe if I asked for another forecast I'd get full as I now have the 35 years required. I still have 12 years to wait so I'm not in any hurry to account for £18 a week :). When I applied for the forecast I just wanted to make sure I had no shocks in store

 

[flook]

If you worked for the majority of public services or the armed forces your state pension will be reduced as they stopped paying full contribution to SERPS ( state earning related pension scheme)
Majority of people concerned won't realise this till they receive their state pension
Even if you ask for a forecast it probably won't be accurate
Hope this helps

no not anything like that, private construction related companies

 

[flook]

Yes it is annoying how little state pension people recieve after a lifetime of work
Your private pension will probably get taxed once you receive your state pension

I made a decision a long time ago, back during the private pension scandals, that I would make my own provision to top up the state pension, and have cash and S&S ISA's which will provide a decent income before state pension and to supplement the SP/PP when that time arrives. As such I sacrificed the "government contribution" but gain back when I retire as I will pay next to nothing in income tax.....I think

 

[Chippy_boy]

Not sure, the reduction may be because when I applied for the forecast I had just under 35 years contributions? Maybe if I asked for another forecast I'd get full as I now have the 35 years required. I still have 12 years to wait so I'm not in any hurry to account for £18 a week :). When I applied for the forecast I just wanted to make sure I had no shocks in store

Maybe that was it. You should not be getting less just because you have a bit extra of your own pension.

That said, who knows where they will raid in order to pay back some of the COVID-19 costs. I can imagine they will hit tax relief on pension contributions and it's far from impossible they will start to reduce the state pension for people who have their own... making your lifetime of payments a fucking waste of time. God forbid they should do this but I would not put it past them.

 

[denislawsbackheel]

Not sure, the reduction may be because when I applied for the forecast I had just under 35 years contributions? Maybe if I asked for another forecast I'd get full as I now have the 35 years required. I still have 12 years to wait so I'm not in any hurry to account for £18 a week :). When I applied for the forecast I just wanted to make sure I had no shocks in store

Since 2016 You need 10 years full contributions to get anything and 35 full years to get the maximum.
If you ask for the written forecast it will tell you if you were ever contracted out and the effect it will have.

 

[denislawsbackheel]

Maybe that was it. You should not be getting less just because you have a bit extra of your own pension.

That said, who knows where they will raid in order to pay back some of the COVID-19 costs. I can imagine they will hit tax relief on pension contributions and it's far from impossible they will start to reduce the state pension for people who have their own... making your lifetime of payments a fucking waste of time. God forbid they should do this but I would not put it past them.

I very much doubt they will hit the UK state pension. It’s already the lowest in Europe. Much more likely will be things like levelling income tax, capital gains tax, dividend taxes etc at the same rate, abolishing high rate pension tax relief, a wealth tax and maybe hiking inheritance tax rates after allowances.

 

[denislawsbackheel]

Maybe that was it. You should not be getting less just because you have a bit extra of your own pension.

That said, who knows where they will raid in order to pay back some of the COVID-19 costs. I can imagine they will hit tax relief on pension contributions and it's far from impossible they will start to reduce the state pension for people who have their own... making your lifetime of payments a fucking waste of time. God forbid they should do this but I would not put it past them.

Anyone who was ever in a contracted out workplace pension before 2016 will have less state pension.

 

[denislawsbackheel]

This yougov link explains what is happening to your pensions.

Contracted out of the Additional State Pension

Check if you were contracted out of the Additional State Pension and what it means for your State Pension

www.gov.uk

 

[stonerblue]

Since 2016 You need 10 years full contributions to get anything and 35 full years to get the maximum.
If you ask for the written forecast it will tell you if you were ever contracted out and the effect it will have.

Is that ten years in total or ten consecutive years?

 

[Chippy_boy]

Anyone who was ever in a contracted out workplace pension before 2016 will have less state pension.

That was not the point though.

 

[flook]

Since 2016 You need 10 years full contributions to get anything and 35 full years to get the maximum.
If you ask for the written forecast it will tell you if you were ever contracted out and the effect it will have.

yup. reduction of £18/week

 

[denislawsbackheel]

Is that ten years in total or ten consecutive years?

Ten years full contributions.
They do not need to be consecutive.

 

[stonerblue]

Ten years full contributions.
They do not need to be consecutive.

nice one cheers dhdi

 

[squirtyflower]

My state pension is £599 per month
I worked for 3 month at Pauldens ( Debenhams) after leaving school at 15 then joined the Royal Navy for 8 years after working at a bakery for 12 month I was in the Health Service for 30 years till i got made redundant then 5 years as a driving instructor .From 1969 to 2015. I was out of work for 5 month .So after working about 45 years my State Pension ain't great
I used the dot.govuk calculator before my pension date and always came up saying would get £700 plus per month oops
Since I got my state pension my health service pension now gets taxed
I can manage but feel for people who will be getting state pension in the next few years as some like me might get a bit of a shock

Most of my career has been in the public service and so we were contracted out of SERPS.
The new state pension introduced in 2016 is now about £175 per week. Much better than the old basic pension. However mine will be less than that due to the contracting out situation.

 

[stonerblue]

Ten years full contributions.
They do not need to be consecutive.

On a side note, when my mrs had to apply for benefit she got turned down flat due to not enough ni. She had been paying it since 15 years old and sent years of big firm payslips. Still fucked her around until eventually a sound geordie bloke told her they had lost 2 million peoples records and that would be where the problem was. Got a 4k payment of backdated claim 3 days later.

 

[squirtyflower]

Maybe that was it. You should not be getting less just because you have a bit extra of your own pension.

That said, who knows where they will raid in order to pay back some of the COVID-19 costs. I can imagine they will hit tax relief on pension contributions and it's far from impossible they will start to reduce the state pension for people who have their own... making your lifetime of payments a fucking waste of time. God forbid they should do this but I would not put it past them.

I recall the saving of removing tax relief on pension contributions being in the region of £37 billion per annum.

 

[Citizen of Legoland]

Anyone who was ever in a contracted out workplace pension before 2016 will have less state pension.

If you worked after 16/17, you can actually "replace" the contracted out years with full years and eventually cancel out the reduction. I was contracted out for about ten years and assume that means I will be back to full pension by 2026/7.

 

[NorthamptonBlue]

Most of my career has been in the public service and so we were contracted out of SERPS.
The new state pension introduced in 2016 is now about £175 per week. Much better than the old basic pension. However mine will be less than that due to the contracting out situation.

Just ensuring you know that you can boost the pension by making voluntary payments. A no brainer if you have less than 35 years but a decent return even if you were just contracted out.

 

[squirtyflower]

If you worked after 16/17, you can actually "replace" the contracted out years with full years and eventually cancel out the reduction. I was contracted out for about ten years and assume that means I will be back to full pension by 2026/7.

It all depends on your NI profile.
You need 35 years of full contributions to get the full pension, doesn’t matter when that is achieved.

 

[squirtyflower]

Just ensuring you know that you can boost the pension by making voluntary payments. A no brainer if you have less than 35 years but a decent return even if you were just contracted out.

I know. However I’m not too sure yet whether I want to. I make more use of the cash I have now than cash I’ll get back later when I’ll be too old to spend it usefully.