Uk pensions - how to?

[spanish_lad]

ok, im sorry to bother you all, but i figure that you might be the best people to ask


mum is 60 next september (the 16th). what does she have to do to "get" her pension ? fill in a form? is it automaticaly applied?

i guess she would have to fill in something to tell them which bank account it needs to be paid to?

finally, how much is it? she will be 60, married, no dependents.


thanks in advance.

[CapnBilly]

Sorry, but you're going to be disappointed with this reply.

The pension age for men and women is being equalised over a period of time. Using your mothers birthday as 16th September 1953, she won't be eligible for her pension until March 2018. Sorry

It's all explained on this site http://www.pensionsadvisoryservice.org. ... alculator?

[spanish_lad]

oh dear. she was looking forward to that too.

[Lyric]

When the time comes you have to claim it too, it's all on the DWP site.

[morlandg]

And to make matters worse - what your mum will receive will depend on how much she has paid into the system. Why don't you ask the DWP for a forecast for her?

[Parilla]

If you do ask the DWP for a forecast, spanish-lad, take it with a pinch of salt.

Parilla

[El Cid]

If you do ask the DWP for a forecast, spanish-lad, take it with a pinch of salt.

Parilla

Why? Mine was spot on.

Sid

[CapnBilly]

And to make matters worse - what your mum will receive will depend on how much she has paid into the system. Why don't you ask the DWP for a forecast for her?

All you need to know is the number of years you have paid full national insurance, I.e the number of years you have worked. You also get credits for any years you were a career, or unemployed(or sick), claimed family allowance. This is the information you have to put into the DWP website. If you don't know it, then you have to write to them, so they can check your national insurance records. Once you have the figure, either because you know it, or they have provided it to you, then it is a simple calculation for the basic pension. The second state pension amount ( formerly known until 2002 as SERPS) is more complicated, as it depends whether you were contracted out of the scheme, and if not, how much you earnt (if you can remember ).

The basic pension is simply the amount of current basic pension (£107.45 per week) divided by 30 and multiplied by the number of years contributions/ credits. In terms of future increases, it will go up by the higher of earnings, CPI or 2.5%, so at least 2.5%.

[dorsetgirl]

I had requested a pension forecast last year, and I did not need any information relating where I have worked or how long etc. I filled out the request on-line, you will need to register first and you get a password so you can log on.

After about six weeks I have received a letter, enclosed with it the information how they calculated the amount I would receive based on the contributions up to the present time. It was very clear and correct information. Unfortunately I will have to work a couple of more years before I have my full pension contribution. Never mind, it means I am still young enough.

[CapnBilly]

I had requested a pension forecast last year, and I did not need any information relating where I have worked or how long etc. I filled out the request on-line, you will need to register first and you get a password so you can log on.

Sorry, it was poor wording by me, and I'd forgotten you could apply for the written quote online. My post is actually about getting the estimate online if you have the information ( you just need the number of years worked, not where) but if you have the info, it's just a matter of doing the simple calculation anyway, for the basic pension.

[Parilla]

My problem, Sid, isn't the basic pension - that is easy enough to calculate yourself - but the additional state pension. When I reached pensionable age, the amount of additional pension awarded was over 30% less ( more than £1,000 p.a less ) than the amount forecast only 8 months previously - despite no changes in my personal circumstances, or in pension rules, during those 8 month, facts which HMRC have since agreed.
After two years of arguing the case without any real explanation from Newcastle , I get a final letter from them which I could barely believe, which states, and this is an exact quote :

"HMRC no longer have responsibilityfor issuing pension forecasts and the computer system that was used has been decommissioned. In view of this we are unable to re-check how the system calculated your Additional State Pension."

The need to keep tax records for 6 years is clearly a one way street. This mess is either an error or a con; whichever, the discrepancy is a fundamental and significant departure from the forecast, and that is why I think it prudent for anyone to view these "forecasts" with some suspicion.

Parilla

[El Cid]

Fair comment. I was referring to the basic pension.

When I got my actual pension I had no idea what the additional pension would be as it is provided by a separate insurance company. I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was about 40% of the basic state pension.

The problem may be caused by many people contracting out of SERPS, possibly making it impossible for the DWP to calculate it. Maybe it is different if the additional pension had been retained within the government system rather than contracting out.

Sid

[CapnBilly]

Must admit that is difficult to understand, as the calculations and rates for the second state pension are laid down, they're not subject to the vagaries of the market. Of course, it's very unlikely that you have detailed figures of your earnings for the years accrued, so you have to rely on them. Sounds like a c@*#k up to me. I think as a matter of principle, I wouldn't let it rest with that reply, which is outrageous, and completely unacceptable. The problem is, you could end up being declared a vexatious complainant, which means they don't have to respond.

[gus]

The State Additional Pension, originally called SERPS (for state earnings related pension) is, as it's original name indicated, an additional pension from the state based on (part) of your earnings. The basis for calculation, and the earnings "slice" on which it is calculated, has changed over the years.
It is calculated by the DWP and is based on National Insurance contributions paid on the "slice" of your earnings.......ie it has a lower and upper limit. There are no credits given for periods when you have not been paying the appropriate NI contributions.

Further complicated by the fact that you earn NO additional pension during periods when you have been "contracted out" of the state additional pension. During these periods, if they apply, you would have paid a reduced rate of NI contributions.

Contracting out could be achieved if you were a member of an occupational pension scheme, either one which provided a guaranteed pension based on your final salary in which case the pension from your occupational scheme had to provide a guarantee that your pension would NOT be less than the State Additional Pension , the Guaranteed inimum Pension (GMP) or, latterly an occupational (or Personal Pension) which provided a fund at retirement from which a pension had to be secured. In this case, part of your NI contributions were redirected and invested in your pension fund. The part of your final fund represented by these contributions HAD to be taken as a pension, ie you could not take any part of this as cash. No guarantee that you would get as much of a pension from this as you would have got from the state if you had remained in their scheme - you accepted the investment risk!

There can't be too many people in the UK who could accurately calculate their additional pension entitlement.

Having said this, there was a period several years ago, when the contribution data provided by HMRC to the DWP was "suspect" (or lost) so it could well be that your pension has been miscalculated. I would have thought that you would be entitled to ask for details of the calculations that DWP have used to determine your entitlement. This might enable you to pick out any errors made (for example in the number of years taken into account, even if you don't have the detailed earnings for those years!)