Someone I know (no, it isn't me) has decided to stop working before retirement age.
They have no intention of becoming gainfully employed again.
Does anyone know what this person needs to do in order to maintain an appropriate amount of state pension once that time eventually comes?
Some kind of voluntary contributions or something?
And I appreciate this next one is probably best for a financial adviser, but is there a way to keep contributing to a public-sector work pension scheme after you've quit your job?
Cheers.","comment":[{"@type":"Comment","@id":"https://www.hotukdeals.com/comments/permalink/51718665","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"crevitz215"},"datePublished":"2023-12-11T14:31:12.000Z","text":"I'd suggest you get the person to obtain a Government Gateway account, to be able to review their tax and pension affairs.
gov.uk/che…ord
This can clearly show you the years of contribution required, and obtained. Then decisions can be made. There has been other discussions on this forum around 'truing' up a pension, but personally I'd scour 'Money Saving Expert' forums for any potentially more tailored advice/case studies.
MSE also has a guide on buying 'years' - moneysavingexpert.com/sav…ns/"},{"@type":"Comment","@id":"https://www.hotukdeals.com/comments/permalink/51718660","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"Haz_19"},"datePublished":"2023-12-11T14:29:43.000Z","text":"Isn't it just 35 complete years of national insurance payments thats gives full state pension"},{"@type":"Comment","@id":"https://www.hotukdeals.com/comments/permalink/51718974","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"mutley1"},"datePublished":"2023-12-11T15:14:07.000Z","text":"you can get a forecast from HMRC via the gateway, so you need to register for the gateway. then you can call them and pay any missing NI contributions to get the full state pension."},{"@type":"Comment","@id":"https://www.hotukdeals.com/comments/permalink/51719883","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"stefos89"},"datePublished":"2023-12-11T17:05:00.000Z","text":"gov.uk/voluntary-national-insurance-contributions/who-can-pay-voluntary-contributions
It seems as if you can only pay for the missed year after that financial year has ended. Upto 6 years previous"},{"@type":"Comment","@id":"https://www.hotukdeals.com/comments/permalink/51721973","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"deleted2862047"},"datePublished":"2023-12-11T20:59:41.000Z","text":"So, in the next six months the government are simplifying all this and are launching a new website just for state pensions. You’ll be able to log in and see what you’ve got, see what years you can ‘buy’ and then simply input card details and pay what you want/is needed for missed years.
And they’ve also extended the period that you can pay missed years for. If you have missed years between 2006 and 2018 you now have until 2025 to ‘buy’ them.
This is all due to the shambolic way HMRC & DWP manage (or don’t) the system, which considering the affects Covid had on them and then the civil service attitude to sorting anything out quickly, means you can wait anything up to a year for a reply at the moment."},{"@type":"Comment","@id":"https://www.hotukdeals.com/comments/permalink/51718714","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"HonourableGentleman"},"datePublished":"2023-12-11T14:38:35.000Z","text":"Re the pension, call the provider - they will give you unbiased advice I hope!"},{"@type":"Comment","@id":"https://www.hotukdeals.com/comments/permalink/51719691","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"Uranus"},"datePublished":"2023-12-11T16:43:39.000Z","text":"Thanks for the advice people.
Looks like the work pension queries are resolved.
However, regarding the state pension, it isn't clear how you proactively contribute.
All the advice and the info online is in reference to retrospective making-up for previous years shortfalls.
The situation in-scope is about tackling shortfalls to come. Is there a way to pay up front, or else make regular payments at specific intervals to ensure the state pension contributions are kept up to date in order to ensure maximum pay-out at retirement age?
The circumstances here seem quite rare: someone quitting work many years ahead of typical retirement age, and who currently has no intention of returning to paid employment again, but who is keen to maximise the pay-outs from both their private and their state pensions when they reach the appropriate age.
Thanks again."},{"@type":"Comment","@id":"https://www.hotukdeals.com/comments/permalink/51720312","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"snapper"},"datePublished":"2023-12-11T17:51:30.000Z","text":"Look on the government website it will tell you"},{"@type":"Comment","@id":"https://www.hotukdeals.com/comments/permalink/51722150","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"Mark_Hickman"},"datePublished":"2023-12-11T21:20:49.000Z","text":"How many years has the person paid national insurance ? If its 35 then no need to do anything, also if they had to quit work due to illness and were to claim disability payments then im pretty sure you still get it if that was a situation"},{"@type":"Comment","@id":"https://www.hotukdeals.com/comments/permalink/51723330","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"cheekyweegit"},"datePublished":"2023-12-12T00:43:36.000Z","text":"If they care for someone they might be able to get extra credits towards their State Pension too, same if they are looking after a child when the childs parents work, the credits can be transferred over eg granny / grandad looking after little Johnny whilst parents are working.
They can also claim Jobseekers Allowance for up to 6 months and current income / savings will not effect amount paid and they will get a stamp towards their State Pension this way too. They will need to be seen to be \"actively seeking work for this\" but given their age and the bias of a lot of employers, there should be no problems claiming for the 6 months.
After the 6 months it will be a Universal Credit Claim where everything income wise is taken into account, so savings, investments, 2nd properties, partners income and any private / work pensions.
Oh and get them to check if they are entitled to discount on their council tax with no longer working, minimum discount should be 25% if they are living alone."},{"@type":"Comment","@id":"https://www.hotukdeals.com/comments/permalink/51725574","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"Uranus"},"datePublished":"2023-12-12T11:14:44.000Z","text":"Thanks for the latest replies.
To be clear, the person has no interest in working again.
They are not entitled to benefits (and don't wish to claim anyway) due to household income etc
I think the person has got all the info needed thanks to many of the helpful replies in this thread.
Thanks again all."},{"@type":"Comment","@id":"https://www.hotukdeals.com/comments/permalink/51719097","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"Timbonagasaki"},"datePublished":"2023-12-11T15:27:21.000Z","text":"Moneyhelper (Formarly The Pensions Advisory Service) should be able to help. He'll be able to contribute into a pension and get tax relief back from the government even if he is not paying tax, however there will be limits to how much he can pay in.
It's essentially free money, and a bit of a no brainer in my opinion."}],"commentCount":20,"interactionStatistic":21,"articleSection":"Ask"}