Pension from UK due in 8 months. Newbie.

[pauleddy]

Need a few tips--

 

I had the DWP call me last year at a prearranged date. The lady was very nice and told me that my pension would be 144 gbp per week. I got the feeling that she was simply reciting the standard single person rate.

 

I'm a bit worried because a friend told me I would have to complete a huge form detailing every job since age 18. Is this true? I ask because I had a few times receiving "dole" and another period when I was working p-t, plus some time in the Channel Islands (ive already checked--I dont get anything from them). Trying to remember every little job or dole period is going to be impossible. Would they have checked me before they called me? I have an NI number, so they must surely have every job or dole period on record.

 

Do they require my birth certificate?

 

Around 15 years ago I calculated that I had worked or had benefits for 30 years, so I wrote to the DWP saying that I had moved to Spain (true) and that I did not want to make any more contributions. I still have that letter (written by myself) as a cc.

 

Is it true that overseas people are "frozen"? Is it illegal to give my UK permanent address? If so, do they check this stuff? I have lived in Thailand for quite a few years

 

What about timing? Do I ask them to send me any paperwork now, or will the whole thing be automatic?

 

Thanks

 

Eddy

[RichardColeman]

Net lists state pension as £175.20  - going by your calculation of £144 - you would only have 28/35 years being taken into consideration.

 

I worked for a company for 26 years and was on benefits for ill health for 6 years before returning, so expect about 32/35 - luckily with other pensions and house income UK pension will really just a nice bonus when it hits

Edited August 28, 2020 by RichardColeman

[sometimewoodworker]

51 minutes ago, pauleddy said:

I'm a bit worried because a friend told me I would have to complete a huge form detailing every job since age 18. Is this true? I ask because I had a few times receiving "dole" and another period when I was working p-t, plus some time in the Channel Islands (ive already checked--I dont get anything from them). Trying to remember every little job or dole period is going to be impossible. Would they have checked me before they called me? I have an NI number, so they must surely have every job or dole period on record.

It certainly was not true for me.

 

as you will not have paid in 35 full years you are On a reduced amount. You can still pay contributions to add years to your record. Unless you are in extremely bad health with a short life expectancy this is the absolute best investment you can possibly make.
 

The number of years to receive the total of your extra payments back is around 4 years after that it’s free money.

 

you should write or call to HMPO and ask for a pension forecast and years paid form. You will have to send it back by snail mail.

[2ndhomepattaya]

There is a much simpler way not sure why you have not done this already. Just log-on to the Government Portal and under pensions you find all your detailed pension infos covering your whole working life in the UK. Employment and periods of no contributions made. If you have a NI number you will find all you need to know.

It may also be worth your while to top-up your pension contributions to the full 35 years

[Mutt Daeng]

@pauleddy : Take a look at https://www.gov.uk/state-pension-if-you-retire-abroad

It says that to claim your pension from abroad, you need to either contact the International Pension Centre or send in a claim form. I have attached the claim form and it does ask for a list of employers, including dates and even details like your employee number. It also asks for your birth certificate.

 

 

ipc-br1-gov-nsp.pdf

Edited August 29, 2020 by Mutt Daeng

[Mike Teavee]

8 hours ago, sometimewoodworker said:

It certainly was not true for me.

 

as you will not have paid in 35 full years you are On a reduced amount. You can still pay contributions to add years to your record. Unless you are in extremely bad health with a short life expectancy this is the absolute best investment you can possibly make.
 

The number of years to receive the total of your extra payments back is around 4 years after that it’s free money.

 

you should write or call to HMPO and ask for a pension forecast and years paid form. You will have to send it back by snail mail.

If you're non-resident for UK Tax purposes, you can pay NI AVCs at Class 2 rates which I calculated would give a payback after around 8 months (Current monthly cost varies between £12 - £15 pm)

 

But be careful about back paying before April 2016 as it's unclear whether these will count towards your 35 years, I back payed 7 years in (& including) 2017 for approx £955 & it looks like 2010-2016 don't count towards my 35 years, something I'll be taking up with them on my next trip home. 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited August 29, 2020 by Mike Teavee

[scubascuba3]

1 hour ago, 2ndhomepattaya said:

There is a much simpler way not sure why you have not done this already. Just log-on to the Government Portal and under pensions you find all your detailed pension infos covering your whole working life in the UK. Employment and periods of no contributions made. If you have a NI number you will find all you need to know.

It may also be worth your while to top-up your pension contributions to the full 35 years

Yes people should just get an HMRC login, it shows all the years you paid NI and your forecast pension. I'm 50 and the record is there now to see. I have about 30 and plan to top up nearer the time for missing years if beneficial

[sometimewoodworker]

1 hour ago, Mike Teavee said:

If you're non-resident for UK Tax purposes, you can pay NI AVCs at Class 2 rates which I calculated would give a payback after around 8 months (Current monthly cost varies between £12 - £15 pm)

That is true for some people, not true for others. If you are eligible to pay class 2 depends on when you were last paying contributions It is nothing to do with being non-resident. In the case of @pauleddy it’s almost certain that he will only be able to pay class 3 so as I said around 4 years.

 

Just because you can pay class 2 doesn’t mean others can.

 

1 hour ago, Mike Teavee said:

But be careful about back paying before April 2016 as it's unclear whether these will count towards your 35 years, I back payed 7 years in (& including) 2017 for approx £955 & it looks like 2010-2016 don't count towards my 35 years, something I'll be taking up with them on my next trip home. 

Why not call them? They are very responsive and there is virtually no difference between talking to the department from here, apart from the good chance you will get someone to answer the phone in a reasonable time and who knows the difference in payments between different countries.

 

Also while I have no idea about your particular situation. I paid my makeup contributions to complete the 35 years before 2016 and I had never been contracted out so making my situation simple.
 

You may have been contradicted out so you may have had to make significantly more payments to get the full state pension as if contracted out you will also be collecting a private pension.

 

Due to contracting out people who did that get less than the maximum but also have another pension. 
 

The change in rules has made the situation even more complex.
 

I am certain that payments for years before 2016 count to the 35 years. 
 

But as I said contracting out makes things much less clear. 
It is certainly possible that your payments made no difference due to this. 
The DWP has not always given correct advice over the phone. They have usually given correct advice in letters.

[Mike Teavee]

1 hour ago, sometimewoodworker said:

That is true for some people, not true for others. If you are eligible to pay class 2 depends on when you were last paying contributions It is nothing to do with being non-resident. In the case of @pauleddy it’s almost certain that he will only be able to pay class 3 so as I said around 4 years.

 

Just because you can pay class 2 doesn’t mean others can.

 

Why not call them? They are very responsive and there is virtually no difference between talking to the department from here, apart from the good chance you will get someone to answer the phone in a reasonable time and who knows the difference in payments between different countries.

 

Also while I have no idea about your particular situation. I paid my makeup contributions to complete the 35 years before 2016 and I had never been contracted out so making my situation simple.
 

You may have been contradicted out so you may have had to make significantly more payments to get the full state pension as if contracted out you will also be collecting a private pension.

 

Due to contracting out people who did that get less than the maximum but also have another pension. 
 

The change in rules has made the situation even more complex.
 

I am certain that payments for years before 2016 count to the 35 years. 
 

But as I said contracting out makes things much less clear. 
It is certainly possible that your payments made no difference due to this. 
The DWP has not always given correct advice over the phone. They have usually given correct advice in letters.

 

Sorry, I should have said that I was posted overseas by a UK Bank so was paying Class 3 stamp before I left the UK but then when I started paying AVCs I told them that I was working (In Singapore) & they advised me to pay at Class 2 rates. 

 

There was no mention that anything would change when I retired (54 so 13 years till I can get my state pension), just if I returned to the UK.

 

I was contracted out for most of my career & the rest I was self-employed so am not expecting a full state pension, but 20/35 of what they give me at 65 will be deducted from the private pension I'll receive at 60 so am not too fussed, it's just as has been said, it's a no brainer given you'll get payback in < 8 months at Class 2 rates & < 4 years at Class 3... 

 

How it was explained to me is the government recalculated everybody's pension entitlement at April 2016 and set this as their new entitlement from that point so buying years before that, in some circumstances, didn't count... There was an article in one of the papers & a column from the ex pension minister explaining it but I can't find it now. 

 

There's no rush in me calling them so I'm trying to leave it until I'm next in the UK as there are other things I need to talk to them about (e.g. when calculating the 7 year payment I miscalculated by 50p so the put me down as a partial year, when I contacted them to find out why they forgave this and I got my full year but 2018 now seems to be showing as partial so am assuming I still owe them the 50p - Have 6 years to sort it out so no rush) 

 

I will request a pension statement from them, just need to dig through all my stuff to find my Gateway ID ???? 

 

 

 

 

[sometimewoodworker]

23 minutes ago, Mike Teavee said:

There's no rush in me calling them so I'm trying to leave it until I'm next in the UK as there are other things I need to talk to them about (e.g. when calculating the 7 year payment I miscalculated by 50p so the put me down as a partial year, when I contacted them to find out why they forgave this and I got my full year but 2018 now seems to be showing as partial so am assuming I still owe them the 50p - Have 6 years to sort it out so no rush) 

 

I will request a pension statement from them, just need to dig through all my stuff to find my Gateway ID ???? 

 

 

 

 

If you are currently making class 2 payments I agree there is no big hurry. If not then the option to make class 2 will go away and you will only be able to make class 3 (still an amazing ROI but not as good)

The Gateway ID makes little difference to getting the form for a pension forecast and contribution history as this has to be done by snail mail, it also may not be exactly the same as on the gateway.

 

FWIW a Skype call to the U.K. landlines runs at about 16 baht per hour and the quality is great

[pauleddy]

Thanks for all the advice. I used the government website and I have 32 years complete service which will give me 153 GBP a week. But I can top up to get 163 GBP if I pay about 730 pounds now.

 

I'm not sure if I need to top up because the chart shows that my records are not complete for 2019-21 yet.

 

I can afford to pay 700 pounds now so am I allowed to do that from a UK bank acc? Is it a good idea? (because our pensions here will be frozen). What I dont understand is the extra part which says I can raise to 175 pounds a week...yet I am only allowed to pay 730 pounds now. Presumably I will get more than 153 if I do nothing but allow another year to pass.

 

The site says that I can call the International Pension people OR fill out the long form. Am I misreading this? I dont want to do the long form because I cant remember every few months I got benefits or even provide payslips from employers.

 

Eddy

[Mike Teavee]

No problem with topping up from a UK account & your pension is only frozen from the time you take it not the time you move to Thailand (Unless this is after you start taking it obviously). 

 

When did you stop paying NI/AVCs? if it was after April 2020 then you'll get the 19/20 Tax year, if it was before then you won't get anything for that year as you have to pay the full amount for any year or none of it counts(As mentioned above I'm 50p short for one year so nothing I paid for that year counts until I sort it out). 

 

I really do need to speak to them as the NI Forecast page says I have 37 years & the pension page says I need to pay another 4 years to get the full amount, hence my belief that the 6 years I backdated aren't counting towards the amount I get. 

 

 

 

[sometimewoodworker]

1 hour ago, pauleddy said:

Thanks for all the advice. I used the government website and I have 32 years complete service which will give me 153 GBP a week. But I can top up to get 163 GBP if I pay about 730 pounds now.

 

I'm not sure if I need to top up because the chart shows that my records are not complete for 2019-21 yet.

 

I can afford to pay 700 pounds now so am I allowed to do that from a UK bank acc? Is it a good idea? (because our pensions here will be frozen). What I dont understand is the extra part which says I can raise to 175 pounds a week...yet I am only allowed to pay 730 pounds now. Presumably I will get more than 153 if I do nothing but allow another year to pass.

 

The site says that I can call the International Pension people OR fill out the long form. Am I misreading this? I dont want to do the long form because I cant remember every few months I got benefits or even provide payslips from employers.

 

Eddy

You certainly should contact DWP with some urgency. Before you start collecting your pension you have options to make up the missing 3 years. The longer you wait the fewer options you have.

 

DWP may, not will, need some of the information on the long form. Nobody keeps payslips from 40 years ago, I can’t remember details of all my past employment, I didn’t need to. 
 

If there are breaks in employment information you may need to supply it, DWP probably has everything they need. You should call and ask.

[sometimewoodworker]

47 minutes ago, Mike Teavee said:

I really do need to speak to them as the NI Forecast page says I have 37 years & the pension page says I need to pay another 4 years to get the full amount, hence my belief that the 6 years I backdated aren't counting towards the amount I get. 

You have 37 years but some/many  of them were contracted out so do not count. The calculation is not simple and only DWP can do it.

 

I have no idea if the payment for the 6 years counts, if it made no difference you may be able to reclaim it.

 

You absolutely need to write or talk to DWP to clarify the situation, and get the information in writing.

[pauleddy]

Are they responsive to queries now? They advertise that you should wait until 4 months before.

 

When I look closer at my account they say I must pay 760gbp PER YEAR for about ten years because I have stayed abroad. Yet one of the guys here told me I could only pay back 4 years of AVC.

 

I took sickness retirement from the NHS about 18 years ago and from teaching about 16 years ago. I have paid income tax on both of these for 16 or 18 years (one tax was almost zero). As I am automatically paying tax and have 2 P60s every year, presumably I am still regarded as a taxpayer and NI payer--so I guess the "uncalculated as yet" period of 2020-21 acts in my favour and means that I receive the full estimate based on 32 years credits (10 pounds less than the 35 year person).

 

But if I add up all the incomplete years, I must pay them 7,000 pounds to reach 175 pounds per week. So I can do nothing and get 163 pounds per weeks, or pay 7,000 pounds to get 175 per week. Unless it is beneficial to pay 4 years only which someone says is the cap. I am not sure if I have Type 2 or Type 3 AVGs to pay or if I am only allowed to pay 4 years. My NHS pension was, it now seems, partially contracted out, even though I always worked in the State sector.

 

Im not sure what I ought to do. I had the estimate in bold email of 163 pounds per week, but is this just fiction?

 

Eddy

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Moonlover]

@pauleddy I was in a similar situation as you when I made my claim for state pension. I was living in Egypt at the time.

 

I followed the advise from the Gov web site and made sure that DWP had my contact details and then sat back and waited until the 'invitation pack' arrived, which it duly just as they said it would 4 months prior to my 65th birthday.

 

Two points I'll pick out for you. Firstly I certainly did not have to list all my past employment details. It would have been impossible for me to do so if they had asked. They have all you employment records on file anyway, so there would be no reason for them to ask.

 

Secondly, they did want to see my birth certificate. I sent them a notarized copy, done by an Egyptian lawyer, which was accepted. If you've lost yours, here's where to go to get a replacement.

 

https://www.gov.uk/order-copy-birth-death-marriage-certificate

 

So please stop fretting about this. there should be nothing to worry about.

 

 

[pauleddy]

10 minutes ago, Moonlover said:

@pauleddy I was in a similar situation as you when I made my claim for state pension. I was living in Egypt at the time.

 

I followed the advise from the Gov web site and made sure that DWP had my contact details and then sat back and waited until the 'invitation pack' arrived, which it duly just as they said it would 4 months prior to my 65th birthday.

 

Two points I'll pick out for you. Firstly I certainly did not have to list all my past employment details. It would have been impossible for me to do so if they had asked. They have all you employment records on file anyway, so there would be no reason for them to ask.

 

Secondly, they did want to see my birth certificate. I sent them a notarized copy, done by an Egyptian lawyer, which was accepted. If you've lost yours, here's where to go to get a replacement.

 

https://www.gov.uk/order-copy-birth-death-marriage-certificate

 

So please stop fretting about this. there should be nothing to worry about.

 

 

That's useful, thx. I think I have my Birth Cert. Im gonna call them on Monday because I am 3 years short, and I want to know if I can buy the top-ups.

[Moonlover]

10 hours ago, pauleddy said:

That's useful, thx. I think I have my Birth Cert. Im gonna call them on Monday because I am 3 years short, and I want to know if I can buy the top-ups.

According to the HMRC website, you can buy top ups for up to 6 years. I checked just now.

 

Good luck mate.

[Bender Rodriguez]

just see it as free pocket money, anything you can get ...

what boils my blood is in my home country, illegals, made citizen, by proving nothing, then import their parents, that on paper have only to work 1 day (not really) and get minimum pension till their death, without ever having worked 1 day or paid taxes in home country...

[Guderian]

You can't avoid paying for it when you're working in the UK, but as an expat I always felt I'd rather have full control of the money myself rather than allowing HMG to arbitrarily decide what benefits I'd be entitled to from my contributions. That changed about about a decade ago when they introduced the triple lock. Combined with ZIRP, it meant that you'd be getting a minimum return of 2.5% pa 100% safe, there was nothing else to beat it as a safe investment, so I started paying Class 3 NI.

 

It was a pretty tedious process, first I had to get a pension forecast off DWP, then ask them to send me a list of the years I could top up. They then insisted that I make an appointment to speak with one of their specialists (at no expense to me) so that he could check my record and confirm it was worth my while topping up. At the time there was a big scandal running as HMRC had been taking voluntary NI contributions off people with a full record for state pension purposes, so they were getting no benefit. After that was done they finally gave me the contact details for the people in HMRC who would arrange to collect the Class 3 money monthly by direct debit. They were incredibly slow, and again insisted on checking with me that I would get a financial benefit from my voluntary payments. In total, this took something over six months to sort out, but they've been taking the money every month and DWP reflect it each year in my pension forecast. So if you want to make voluntary contributions to top up, get on with it now, as my experience was that it's not a fast process.

 

But either way, don't get too fussed over it, it's still the worst state pension scheme of any of the advanced economies, and even with (yet another) Parliamentary committee looking into the lack of indexing in most countries, I wouldn't hold your breath.

 

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-42236328

 

[chang50]

On 8/29/2020 at 6:49 AM, 2ndhomepattaya said:

There is a much simpler way not sure why you have not done this already. Just log-on to the Government Portal and under pensions you find all your detailed pension infos covering your whole working life in the UK. Employment and periods of no contributions made. If you have a NI number you will find all you need to know.

It may also be worth your while to top-up your pension contributions to the full 35 years

Will that list dates when you started and finished particular jobs and when you claimed benefits or just list when you made NI contributions.The latter doesn't help when it comes to trying to remember where and for how long you worked at a particular job maybe over 40 years ago which the form requires.

[Upnotover]

15 hours ago, pauleddy said:

That's useful, thx. I think I have my Birth Cert. Im gonna call them on Monday because I am 3 years short, and I want to know if I can buy the top-ups.

Better wait until Tuesday, Monday is a bank holiday.

[sometimewoodworker]

20 hours ago, pauleddy said:

Are they responsive to queries now? They advertise that you should wait until 4 months before.

They are and have always been responsive to pension forecast queries, you are confusing the actual pension with the forecast.

 

20 hours ago, pauleddy said:

When I look closer at my account they say I must pay 760gbp PER YEAR for about ten years because I have stayed abroad. Yet one of the guys here told me I could only pay back 4 years of AVC.

Don’t believe “one of the guys” you’re able to pay at least 6 years back, maybe more if you haven’t been paying.

 

 

20 hours ago, pauleddy said:

As I am automatically paying tax and have 2 P60s every year, presumably I am still regarded as a taxpayer and NI payer

No you are no automatically paying either the correct tax and definitely not National insurance (unless it is listed on your P60).

 

Have you been filling your tax return or been told you don’t need to by HMRC?

 

20 hours ago, pauleddy said:

My NHS pension was, it now seems, partially contracted out, even though I always worked in the State sector.

Most state sector pensions were contracted out.

 

You are receiving/will receive the state pension and a government pension. If that is over the state pension amount what are you complaining about.

 

you do not get to contract out (you are paying into a private pension) and collect the full state pension. You don’t get to double dip.

20 hours ago, pauleddy said:

When I look closer at my account they say I must pay 760gbp PER YEAR for about ten years because I have stayed abroad

It is nothing to do with where you have lived apart from being able to escape paying NI. It’s because you haven’t been paying full NI for enough years
 

your situation is not simple, or your ability to explain it is poor. You need to pay a pension advisor.
 

Your story keeps changing! You now say your 3 years short not 10 

Edited August 30, 2020 by sometimewoodworker

[sometimewoodworker]

2 hours ago, Guderian said:

But either way, don't get too fussed over it, it's still the worst state pension scheme of any of the advanced economies,

It may well be the worst state pension. 
 

But it’s the absolute best Return On Investment you can find. Where else are you going to get a 25%+ per annum (even more if you can pay class 2) return until you die??? And government backed as well.

[BritManToo]

2 minutes ago, sometimewoodworker said:

It may well be the worst state pension. 
 

But it’s the absolute best Return On Investment you can find. Where else are you going to get a 25%+ per annum (even more if you can pay class 2) return until you die??? And government backed as well.

Disagree if you live in Thailand,

You need to live to 71 to get your money back, 73 if you have other pensions and lose 20% of that extra in tax.

Doubt I'll make 71 .... let alone 73 in Thailand.

Agree if you live in the UK and have a better chance of living into your 70s.

 

Disagree about it being the worst state pension.

Australia, and NZ make you live there to get a state pension these days.

Edited August 30, 2020 by BritManToo

[Max69xl]

On 8/29/2020 at 12:05 PM, pauleddy said:

Thanks for all the advice. I used the government website and I have 32 years complete service which will give me 153 GBP a week. But I can top up to get 163 GBP if I pay about 730 pounds now.

 

I'm not sure if I need to top up because the chart shows that my records are not complete for 2019-21 yet.

 

I can afford to pay 700 pounds now so am I allowed to do that from a UK bank acc? Is it a good idea? (because our pensions here will be frozen). What I dont understand is the extra part which says I can raise to 175 pounds a week...yet I am only allowed to pay 730 pounds now. Presumably I will get more than 153 if I do nothing but allow another year to pass.

 

The site says that I can call the International Pension people OR fill out the long form. Am I misreading this? I dont want to do the long form because I cant remember every few months I got benefits or even provide payslips from employers.

 

Eddy

"Is it true that overseas people are "frozen"?"

I haven't seen any frozen people lately. I hope you mean the pension, and yes, it will be frozen if moving to Thailand officially.

[gearbox]

28 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

Disagree if you live in Thailand,

You need to live to 71 to get your money back, 73 if you have other pensions and lose 20% of that extra in tax.

Doubt I'll make 71 .... let alone 73 in Thailand.

Agree if you live in the UK and have a better chance of living into your 70s.

 

Disagree about it being the worst state pension.

Australia, and NZ make you live there to get a state pension these days.

I don't know anything about the NZ pension, but the Australia's OAP (old age pension) is the worst or the best depending on your circumstances.

For example, if you work 40 years, pay tons of taxes, and you are prudent enough to accumulate significant private pension as well, you'll receive zero OAP pension.

If you haven't worked a day in your life, and have not much to show financially, you'll receive the full OAP pension. Heaven for the low life bogans and freeloaders.

 

And they say China is communist..

 

[Hi Tea]

On 8/28/2020 at 10:21 PM, pauleddy said:

I had the DWP call me last year at a prearranged date. The lady was very nice and told me that my pension would be 144 gbp per week. I got the feeling that she was simply reciting the standard single person rate.

 

I'm a bit worried because a friend told me I would have to complete a huge form detailing every job since age 18. Is this true?

 

Do they require my birth certificate?

 

Is it true that overseas people are "frozen"? Is it illegal to give my UK permanent address?

 

What about timing? Do I ask them to send me any paperwork now, or will the whole thing be automatic?

"I had the DWP call me last year at a prearranged date. The lady was very nice and told me that my pension would be 144 gbp per week".

Until they receive a pension claim form from I believe that figure is an estimate.  A completed claim form will enable them to calculate the exact pension and that will be confirmed to you in writing stating the amount and the start date.

 

"...a friend told me I would have to complete a huge form detailing every job since age 18. Is this true?"

That is correct, it's a multiple-page claim form.  Whether they really need all the information requested is debatable. Part of it may be a way to identify the applicant positively to ensure that they are going to be paying the pension to the correct person. 

Three years ago I was in the similar position of not being able to recall all my 47 years employment dates accurately so I gave estimates.   I was not queried on any errors or omissions.

 

"Do they require my birth certificate?"

Yes, or a notarised copy of it.

 

"Is it true that overseas people are "frozen"? Is it illegal to give my UK permanent address?"

Pensioners living in Thailand have their pensions frozen, yes. 

It is illegal to give the DWP false information on the claim form and it's not hard for them to work out what you're doing if you're having a pension paid into a Thai bank account.  They may ask why your "permanent address" is allegedly in the UK if they are corresponding with you in Thailand.

 

"What about timing? Do I ask them to send me any paperwork now, or will the whole thing be automatic?"

You have to request the claim form, it's not sent automatically.  If you call them they will tell you when you should request it.

Edited August 30, 2020 by Hi Tea

[twix38]

In general terms for info

 

They quote 2 figures and often the first one is the total amount maximum you can get. Not what you will get. Be careful to use the figure you will actually get and not the higher one that is the maximum amount with full qualifying years.

 

Also you can pay for back years but if you pay for years prior to 2016/17 they will not count towards your pension. I.e. they will not increase your pension but your payment will be gratefully received and count for nothing. Be careful.

Edited August 30, 2020 by twix38

[BritManToo]

1 hour ago, gearbox said:

I don't know anything about the NZ pension, but the Australia's OAP (old age pension) is the worst or the best depending on your circumstances.

For example, if you work 40 years, pay tons of taxes, and you are prudent enough to accumulate significant private pension as well, you'll receive zero OAP pension.

If you haven't worked a day in your life, and have not much to show financially, you'll receive the full OAP pension. Heaven for the low life bogans and freeloaders.

 

And they say China is communist..

 

But living in Oz is a life time prison sentence.