DWP question

[30-6]

Can anyone shed any light on this for me please. She did call in a DWP office but as she didn't have an appointment was only given vague information.

My wife has recently been made redundant, and at 62 took early retirement as well. At the moment she doesn't know if she will work again due to arthritis problem with her knees.

She's not claiming any benefits, but has been told she needs to inform DWP and Inland Revenue that she is no longer working so as " stamp " will be paid towards her state pension.

Is this correct, does she herself or who does pay this stamp thing ?

Thanks in advance.

 

[gdadphil]

Hi, I suggest that there are 2 steps she needs to take before speaking to DWP

1. work out if she needs to pay any more contributions before getting her State pension

https://www.gov.uk/state-pension/eligibility

2 if necessary check what she has already paid 

https://www.gov.uk/check-national-insurance-record

(its a faff to register with the system but worth doing)

gdadphil

[30-6]

I might add, the early pension she opted for was her works pension. Her state pension will start in a few years.

She's been given her redundancy figures but still waiting for the works pension figures.

[JohnfromUK]

Agree with gdadphil above;

• If you already have enough 'complete years' of NI recorded, you already qualify for full state pension (when you reach the pension age)  No need to add more years.
• If you are short of some years - it may well be worth 'topping up' as this is generally 'good value for money'.

See this article.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-11500179/Martin-Lewis-shares-hack-pensioners-turn-800-5-500.html

 

[Old Boggy]

There is also a system whereby if a wife’s state pension is less than 60% of her husband’s, then the difference between it and 60% can be claimed. This was highlighted on ML show fairly recently.

OB

[30-6]

Hi all many thanks for your input.

Been on gov site, and she has no gaps and 47 years full contributions.

Looking at the Martin Lewis info bit, am I correct in thinking it is not worth her paying in the £800 ?

I didn't realize pensions were such a scary topic.

Your help is very much appreciated.

[JohnfromUK]

13 minutes ago, 30-6 said:

Been on gov site, and she has no gaps and 47 years full contributions.

Looking at the Martin Lewis info bit, am I correct in thinking it is not worth her paying in the £800 ?

I think that with 47 'full years' you (she) will be fine, but I am not qualified in this area and you should check with DWP or you can talk I think to the Gov't Pensions Service.

The extra £800 is to make up your 'full years' if you are short (therefore not enough for a 'full' pension).  I thin k for most people - a minimum of 35 'full years' gives a full pension, but there may be exceptions.  More info here:  https://www.gov.uk/new-state-pension/how-its-calculated

[Bigbob]

I would talk to somebody from DWP but a mate retired early from the council went to the dole to sign on and was told with your lump sum you will get nothing , to which he said im only signing on to get my stamp paid . He was then told anything over 33 years was a waste of time 

[oowee]

13 minutes ago, Bigbob said:

I would talk to somebody from DWP but a mate retired early from the council went to the dole to sign on and was told with your lump sum you will get nothing , to which he said im only signing on to get my stamp paid . He was then told anything over 33 years was a waste of time 

35 years now. 

On 12/12/2022 at 23:26, 30-6 said:

I might add, the early pension she opted for was her works pension. Her state pension will start in a few years.

She's been given her redundancy figures but still waiting for the works pension figures.

If your still working get hold of her half of the married persons allowance if you don't already have it. Save yourself a bit of tax. 

[Keith 66]

Re Topping up pensions. I was self employed most of my working life & paid self employed stamp most of the time. At times when things were tight i had to stop & missed a few years. I registered online with DWP a few years ago & checked my records with my other half telling me to top up the missing years. Then i found that there is a 6 year time limit & any years before that cannot be topped up. Fortunately i had paid enough in to qualify for old age pension in 5 years time.

 

[harrycatcat1]

6 hours ago, 30-6 said:

Hi all many thanks for your input.

Been on gov site, and she has no gaps and 47 years full contributions.

Looking at the Martin Lewis info bit, am I correct in thinking it is not worth her paying in the £800 ?

I didn't realize pensions were such a scary topic.

Your help is very much appreciated.

Definitely ring them up, I started work at 15 and worked till I was 60 = 45 years and still had to pay to top up. The chap on the phone was really helpful 👌 👍 

[JohnfromUK]

15 minutes ago, harrycatcat1 said:

Definitely ring them up, I started work at 15 and worked till I was 60 = 45 years and still had to pay to top up. The chap on the phone was really helpful 👌 👍 

Perhaps you had some years when your employer had 'contracted you out'?

[harrycatcat1]

1 hour ago, JohnfromUK said:

Perhaps you had some years when your employer had 'contracted you out'?

To be honest it's a while back but I seem to remember there was 2 or 3 years missing probably because I finished at 60. If I hadn't topped it up it was a fair bit down. I think I worked it out I only had to live 18 months after 66 and I'm winning as its paid the money back. As I said the fella was very helpful.

[JohnfromUK]

Just now, harrycatcat1 said:

To be honest it's a while back but I seem to remember there was 2 or 3 years missing probably because I finished at 60. If I hadn't topped it up it was a fair bit down. I think I worked it out I only had to live 18 months after 66 and I'm winning as its paid the money back. As I said the fella was very helpful.

I finished at 59 - and also had a few years 'contracted out', but still had enough (I think I needed 35) without topping up. 

Yes, if you are short it is very good value - and yes, they were very helpful.

[harrycatcat1]

5 minutes ago, JohnfromUK said:

I finished at 59 - and also had a few years 'contracted out', but still had enough (I think I needed 35) without topping up. 

Yes, if you are short it is very good value - and yes, they were very helpful.

I wish my memory was better but I think they said I would be £4.50p short of the full pension but it wasn't worth paying another year to get it.

[Bigbob]

It doesn't matter you pay into your pension and are taxed all your working life , you get anymore than the bare minimum they say you need to live on they are them allowed to tax you again .

I was talking to some workmates and they where saying i have 5 years to go i have 7 years to go . I said watch out if you can go now go if you retire on full service as your in council houses you will have to pay full rent how much will that leave you to live on ?, Retire with less service less money council cut your rent or pay the top up ?.They admitted they had not even tried to work out there fiancées only looked at retirement at 67 

[JohnfromUK]

6 minutes ago, Bigbob said:

They admitted they had not even tried to work out there finances

Everyone should (try to) have some understanding of what the future holds for them in retirement; what the want to do, how they want to live, and what it will cost.  That gives you an idea of the sort of pension you will need.  Then you need to balance that with how much you can afford.  The 'state' pension, despite it's amazing levels of complexity in how it is administered and calculated ......... is only a basic minimum which (in theory) allows the recipient to keep housed, fed and adequately warm etc.

If you want more than that, under the system, it is up to you to arrange what extra you want.  To be fair, the Gov't does give you tax relief on contributions to savings for a pension up to a (reasonably generous amount) of about £1M in savings, and also complex and flexible ways of 'using' pension funds.  The old rules where you 'had to' buy an annuity are no longer true.

I would encourage all younger people to 'think about it'.  Think what you want, how much it will cost and how you may (or may not) be able to afford to save for that.  It may not be for everyone, but it is a fact that won't change any time soon that the state pension will be a very basic minimum and won't give much of a lifestyle unless 'topped up' by either working on, or additional pensions/savings.

[TOPGUN749]

You only need 35 full years of contributions for the full state pension,so no need to do anything the pension will start at age 67. I stopped working 3 years before my pension age,and still get the full entitlement due to 48 years of stamps. It’s only important for younger people to sign on as a job seeker for example to get a stamp credit if not working.