Pensions info for people who were contracted out

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itsybitsy
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Re: Pensions info for people who were contracted out

Post by itsybitsy »

I am fully paid up but also was contracted out for a while (which I can't even remember :lol: ) My latest COPE estimate is £15.90 per week. Being completely honest, I don't really know anything about COPE or how I get the money. :?
jansman
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Re: Pensions info for people who were contracted out

Post by jansman »

jansman wrote: Wed May 18, 2022 6:33 pm
Frnc wrote: Wed May 18, 2022 6:03 pm
jennyjj01 wrote: Wed May 18, 2022 3:45 pm
It gets worse. Your scheme pension might drop by the "State Pension Offset" when your state pension starts. Check your scheme.
Omg! Not heard of that. Think I'm OK.
Infation is a worry though as one only goes up 3% a year, and one doesn''t go up at all! They only add up to about £500 a month.
Inflation, please come down!
Sadly, inflation, worldwide, is here for the duration. Ironically, we are at 9%. Back in the 90’s we had 15.25 %. We thought 8% was comfortable! For as long as oil is scarce ( we have 4 million barrels of oil LESS in the world than in 2018 , plus more demand!) money = energy and energy = money. As for pensions; they could be a memory …
What was I thinking when I spouted those numbers? :lol:

The INTEREST rate was 15 odd % and we were comfortable with 8% . We had a mortgage,so we were aware of that. The INFLATION rate was 3.74% . My apologies for that.
In three words I can sum up everything I have learned about life: It goes on.

Robert Frost.

Covid 19: After that level of weirdness ,any situation is certainly possible.

Me.
Frnc
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Re: Pensions info for people who were contracted out

Post by Frnc »

itsybitsy wrote: Thu May 19, 2022 1:31 pm I am fully paid up but also was contracted out for a while (which I can't even remember :lol: ) My latest COPE estimate is £15.90 per week. Being completely honest, I don't really know anything about COPE or how I get the money. :?
You don't have to do anything apart from pay whatever it says on the forecast page. The COPE amount they give you is just for info. I'm offered full whack because I'm paying extra years, as it tells me to. I WOULD HAVE got a smaller pension, by the COPE amount, if I'd not kept paying NI and bought extra years.
Kiwififer
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Re: Pensions info for people who were contracted out

Post by Kiwififer »

Frnc wrote: Wed May 18, 2022 2:01 pm I assume having a pension counts as prepping.
This applies to people aged 45 to 70.
If you've been on a company pension that was contracted out, you might not get the full state pension. Well, if you do nothing, you definitely won't, unless you qualfy for top-up due to hardship.
I retired early. I was told that as I'd paid 25 years National Insurance I'd get my state pension. But what they didn't tell me was I'd need to pay voluntary contributions because I'd been contracted out in the past. Fortunately I found out and have been making payments for a few years. In fact I have paid 42 full years but stilll need to pay 2 more.
Well, apparently that's changing next April. After that you'll only be able to top up going back 6 years.
Getting the full pension, if you can, is a no-brainer as you make a profit (on your NI volutary payments) if you live more than 3 years after collecting your pension.
A year's contribution is £800. This buys you a pension of £275 a year.
The max you can get is about £185 a week. Some people will get topped up due to hardship I think.
More info here
https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/lates ... on#pension
This is where you check what you're going to get, wheter you can top up etc
https://www.tax.service.gov.uk/check-yo ... on/account

The weird thing is, my last 6 years are full years and my forecast says I need to pay for 2 more years (taking me to 44 full years). Well, 1 year takes me to next April, so the other year seems to contradict the article.
I lived in New Zealand for 5 years, will this affect me? I will probably be working till about 65 I reckon, I’m 50 at the moment and have paid into the pot since 18. Ta.
Frnc
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Re: Pensions info for people who were contracted out

Post by Frnc »

Kiwififer wrote: Fri Jun 24, 2022 10:06 am
Frnc wrote: Wed May 18, 2022 2:01 pm I assume having a pension counts as prepping.
This applies to people aged 45 to 70.
If you've been on a company pension that was contracted out, you might not get the full state pension. Well, if you do nothing, you definitely won't, unless you qualfy for top-up due to hardship.
I retired early. I was told that as I'd paid 25 years National Insurance I'd get my state pension. But what they didn't tell me was I'd need to pay voluntary contributions because I'd been contracted out in the past. Fortunately I found out and have been making payments for a few years. In fact I have paid 42 full years but stilll need to pay 2 more.
Well, apparently that's changing next April. After that you'll only be able to top up going back 6 years.
Getting the full pension, if you can, is a no-brainer as you make a profit (on your NI volutary payments) if you live more than 3 years after collecting your pension.
A year's contribution is £800. This buys you a pension of £275 a year.
The max you can get is about £185 a week. Some people will get topped up due to hardship I think.
More info here
https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/lates ... on#pension
This is where you check what you're going to get, wheter you can top up etc
https://www.tax.service.gov.uk/check-yo ... on/account

The weird thing is, my last 6 years are full years and my forecast says I need to pay for 2 more years (taking me to 44 full years). Well, 1 year takes me to next April, so the other year seems to contradict the article.
I lived in New Zealand for 5 years, will this affect me? I will probably be working till about 65 I reckon, I’m 50 at the moment and have paid into the pot since 18. Ta.
I'm sorry, I don't know how your time in New Zealand would affect you. Also the changing UK rules affect people differently. All you need to do is click on the link for the government website to see your pension forecast, how many full years NI you've paid, etc. It might also be worth ringing them.
Kiwififer
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Re: Pensions info for people who were contracted out

Post by Kiwififer »

Frnc wrote: Fri Jun 24, 2022 10:40 am
Kiwififer wrote: Fri Jun 24, 2022 10:06 am
Frnc wrote: Wed May 18, 2022 2:01 pm I assume having a pension counts as prepping.
This applies to people aged 45 to 70.
If you've been on a company pension that was contracted out, you might not get the full state pension. Well, if you do nothing, you definitely won't, unless you qualfy for top-up due to hardship.
I retired early. I was told that as I'd paid 25 years National Insurance I'd get my state pension. But what they didn't tell me was I'd need to pay voluntary contributions because I'd been contracted out in the past. Fortunately I found out and have been making payments for a few years. In fact I have paid 42 full years but stilll need to pay 2 more.
Well, apparently that's changing next April. After that you'll only be able to top up going back 6 years.
Getting the full pension, if you can, is a no-brainer as you make a profit (on your NI volutary payments) if you live more than 3 years after collecting your pension.
A year's contribution is £800. This buys you a pension of £275 a year.
The max you can get is about £185 a week. Some people will get topped up due to hardship I think.
More info here
https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/lates ... on#pension
This is where you check what you're going to get, wheter you can top up etc
https://www.tax.service.gov.uk/check-yo ... on/account

The weird thing is, my last 6 years are full years and my forecast says I need to pay for 2 more years (taking me to 44 full years). Well, 1 year takes me to next April, so the other year seems to contradict the article.
I lived in New Zealand for 5 years, will this affect me? I will probably be working till about 65 I reckon, I’m 50 at the moment and have paid into the pot since 18. Ta.
I'm sorry, I don't know how your time in New Zealand would affect you. Also the changing UK rules affect people differently. All you need to do is click on the link for the government website to see your pension forecast, how many full years NI you've paid, etc. It might also be worth ringing them.
Ok, will give them a ring. Strange, I never thought I would actually be back or that a missing few years would affect my pension, I best make sure everything is up to date. Thanks for this btw, it’s essential stuff most folk never even consider….
Frnc
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Re: Pensions info for people who were contracted out

Post by Frnc »

Kiwififer wrote: Fri Jun 24, 2022 11:15 am
Ok, will give them a ring. Strange, I never thought I would actually be back or that a missing few years would affect my pension, I best make sure everything is up to date. Thanks for this btw, it’s essential stuff most folk never even consider….
I would try the link first. That way you can see a lot of info in front of you. How much you will get, how many years left to pay for, and a link to your NI years record.
https://www.access.service.gov.uk/login/signin/creds

You might need to sign up, it's just a matter of creating an account and giving them your email. When I sign in I get a text sent to my phone to confirm it. That might be optional.
Kiwififer
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Joined: Tue Jul 24, 2018 1:02 pm

Re: Pensions info for people who were contracted out

Post by Kiwififer »

My wife previously worked for inland revenue and is quite up to date on these type of things, I might annoy her, sorry ask her about it.

She’s watching some guff on the telly just now, I might wait until there’s five minutes to the cliff hanger….. 😉
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itsybitsy
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Re: Pensions info for people who were contracted out

Post by itsybitsy »

So, I had a little look at my pension forecast. I am forecast the maximum state pension - so that's okay. I ALSO have a forecast for COPE, let's say £15.00 per week, just to put a tangible amount on it, which states:

This will not affect your State Pension forecast. The COPE amount is paid as part of your other pension schemes, not by the government.

Does this mean that this COPE forecast is wrapped up into the pension scheme I was paying into when I was contracted out? Because when I checked all the little pots of pension that I've built up over the years in various jobs - not one of them was forecasting a payment of anywhere as high as what my COPE forecast is, which would be around £65.00 per month, using the £15.00 figure I've quoted here.
Frnc
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Joined: Sat Mar 12, 2022 1:54 pm

Re: Pensions info for people who were contracted out

Post by Frnc »

itsybitsy wrote: Sat Jun 25, 2022 9:55 am So, I had a little look at my pension forecast. I am forecast the maximum state pension - so that's okay. I ALSO have a forecast for COPE, let's say £15.00 per week, just to put a tangible amount on it, which states:

This will not affect your State Pension forecast. The COPE amount is paid as part of your other pension schemes, not by the government.

Does this mean that this COPE forecast is wrapped up into the pension scheme I was paying into when I was contracted out? Because when I checked all the little pots of pension that I've built up over the years in various jobs - not one of them was forecasting a payment of anywhere as high as what my COPE forecast is, which would be around £65.00 per month, using the £15.00 figure I've quoted here.
So you contracted out. Under the old rules that Cope anount would have been knocked off your state pension. Under new rules, if you pay extra years NI, you still get the full pension. Your statement will tell you how many years you need to pay in to get the full whack. If you weren't contracted out it would be 35 years. I'm having to pay about 8 years extra because of a Cope estimate of £37 a week. The new rules are beneficial, because I'd rather pay 8 years NI than lose more than half my pension.
That's the gist of it, but it depends when you were contracted out, gets a bit complicated.
I've no idea where your Cope money is, could be spread over more than one pension. You won't be able to identify it very easily.