State Pension

[Matheous]

I am eligible to claim my pension in April this year and have found the .gov site a bit of a jungle....Can anyone give a ball-park sum I should expect? I have contributed in employment since I was fifteen years old with only a five year gap when I was self-employed although I did pay a S.E. stamp as I recall.
Currently I am still employed and my (younger) wife earns far more than I ever did and will continue to do so for another twelve years or so.....

[factor-fiction]

Well you should get the full state pension for starters. You may also be entitled to some earnings related pension if you were 'contracted in' to SERPS or one of the other second state pension schemes. There's also pension credit you may be eligible for. You could have applied for a forecast- in fact if you do it now it should come before April

[Mr Veritas]

Further to factor's excellent answer.
Here is a link to the Pension Service website,which tells you how to get a Pension Forecast.
http://www.direct.gov...nforecast/DG_10014008

[buildersmate]

The other two have covered off most of the basics.
The Basic State Pension is what F30 is referring to - accrued by having enough 'qualifying years' of Ni contributions. You will definitely have this. Full Basic State pension is £95.25p per week at the moment.
In addition you will almost certainly be entitled to extra state pension accrued from your earnings level. There are three schemes run over the years you have contributed.
Graduated Pension which ran until the mid-70s.
SERPS (State Earnings Related Pension) as per F30.
2SP (Second State Pension) more recently.
The Pensions Forecast people will have the record of your earnings and contributions going back - they use that to make sure you get the correct amount.
I have reasonable confidence they will have the earnings in each tax year right. Just make sure that their record of your employment history aligns to your own - especially around the time of your self-employment.
Start the process NOW - these people generally work slowly (civil servants, you understand) - to stand a chance of getting it right before April.

[Matheous]

Thank you so much to all- I do remember Grad Pens. and SERPS appearing on my payslips....Brings back memories!

[dothawkes31]

This has reminded me of a cold call email i got yeaterday with the blurb:

'Current rules allow you to opt out of the State 2nd Pension and rebate these contributions to your own savings plan. The average rebate is about £1,600. Take control of your choices.'

what are they on about?

[boxtops]

Give the Pensions Agency a ring - they are very helpful and send a written statement of what you can claim, within a few days. Also, if you decide not to claim yet (perhaps you are still working) then they will hang onto the money until you tell them you want to start claiming - and currently this is worth an extra 10% p.a. until you claim.

[Matheous]

dothawkes31- I already got one of these by post from AVIVA.....I binned it!

[craft1948]

Matheous I received a letter 6 months before my pension was due asking me to claim my pension.....after considering my lifestyle I told the young gentleman at the DWP that I wouldn't defer it.......on top of the basic state pension I get the princely sum of £2.70 a week SERPS as I opted out after 5 years into a private pension scheme. It doesn't matter if you are still working or what your wife earns......my mate is still working and draws her state pension as handbags/shoes money....

[boxtops]

hi, sorry if I was misleading by mentioning in my last post "if someone is still working", I meant that for some people still working full time, a lot of the state pension would be gobbled up in tax. Personally I'd rather not give the taxman any more money than I have to - but I too know people who do just that, claim their pension as well as get paid from a job.

[buildersmate]

One's pension (State or employer's) is just like any other form of income - one unfortunately has to pay income tax on it. So I suppose if one can afford to defer the start of the pension whilst still working in another job, it could be worthwhile - there is a growth rate at which the pension becomes larger if one chooses to defer the start (the Pension Forecast people can tell you).

Regarding cold-calling, there has been a choice for many years as to whether to opt out of the second state pension (that which is above the basic state pension). However one should take proper advice before just signing up for any old scheme that gets thrust through the door. The 'rebate' means the money that would have been paid to into the State Second Pension (as part of the NI) gets channelled into the pension provider instead. I really can't advise if this is a good idea - it depends on individual circumstances.