I made it my business to be aware of all the implications regarding my state pension. I was opted out on a DB scheme, retired at 51 on March 27th 2010 and bought 8 years x NI contributions from after 2016 until present to get a full state pension next year. Those 8 extra payments increase your pension by roughly £5 per week each and therefore it takes about 3 years to get your money back. ( A no brainer for a healthy and fit person ). So when I am 69, I will be quids in for the rest of my life, with no pension deductions caused by being opted out, which because of my lifestyle choices, should be a long one by the law of averages but obviously nothing is guaranteed.

Hi, I dug out my 2019 State Pension Forecast and it gave me cope value of £36,88. Now the top of the letter told me my pension at that stage was £139,66 It also said if I worked for another 7 qualifying years before 2038 I would get £168,60 at retirement the maximum in 2019, So, read the letter carefully because if you keep paying in you can offset the cope value and still get the maximum state pension. Take care M.

I'm in a similar situation, I only found out about it when chatting to an old colleague who recently hit 65 and got an extra pension he was not expecting. I'm still unclear how much I will get.

Your pension contribution are tax free, you should speak to someone ref 4 years contributions to the state pension as you might find you can retire early using your personal pension which will reduce your tax, just a thought.

What, like men have always done ? Women wanted equality but only the good bit eh ? Waspi women deserve nothing but what they put in to the system. Not extra money that would be taken from other people who did.

it takes 2 years 11 months to get extra NIC 's back after retirement age. After that you gain. It is a no brainer ? Tax is only 20% for the sum above the £12750 allowance. All the rest after 3 years, you are getting for the rest of your life. Just because you are above pension age doesn't mean that you are immune from tax. I get my state pension next year but I have been in receipt of my works pension since 2010 and have been paying tax on that since then and rightly so on all money above the allowance like everybody else does.

Sorry but you are only looking at negatives as while you may have tax to pay, that's because you would have a much higher pension so more money in you pocket

Exactly my situation and what I have done.

I was in a similar situation to you. Requested my state pension forecast and - most importantly - my national insurance (NI) record going back 40+ years showing several years where I hadn’t paid enough and I also fell short by 3 years. Because I had also been contracted out for several years during my employment history I focused on the 2016+ years to pay the shortfall amounts (one years was about £96, another about £600 etc) to bring me up to the 35 years required, knowing that every year of full contributions from 2016 would ‘cancel out’ the deduction from state pension for being contracted out. It’s exhausting to navigate the process and the position is different for every individual it seems. But in the end I was lucky - by paying less than £1,000 to make up missed contributions for the years 2016+ I now receive the full state pension of £221.20 / week. Best return I’ll ever get on £850!

Your lucky I got out of the force's April 1975 we do not get A forces pension, we were expected to pay for our own on the pittance they gave us at the time.

@@tommyhall6695It was our choice to stay or leave though. I’m also an AFPS 75 scheme recipient. We received literature about contracting out. I stayed in. We were warned that it would be a mistake to leave.

@@mikewinston8709 I was glad to get out to be honest. Funny from 1969 to 1975 we were always told to get a private pension, no way could we afford it on our pay at the time.

This is the problem with the state pension - it is baffling how they get the figures. I get £898.36 every 4 weeks but have no idea why I get more than the standard amount. I keep expecting DWP to say it's wrong and I need to pay the extra back. I have 48 years of NI contributions but for about 7 of them I was contracted out of SERPS. That works pension has long been merged in with two others into one single pot that I don't need to touch yet - so avoiding paying any tax. Baffling. 🤔

@@Broadwould Very baffling, but your situation is similar to mine. What isn't baffling, is that with the extra £9 every four weeks I can blow it on 3 extra coffees when out with my walking group .....😂

I would avoid the index funds, mutual funds, or specific stocks for the time being. 5% fixed incomes are the safest bet for now. Save your cash for when the market actually shows signs of recovery

At a point like this, when the pressure is already on you to retire, its best recommended you seek the services of an advisor, as this allows you make smarter investing decisions.

Generally speaking, a good number of people discredit the effectiveness of financial advisor in planning for retirement, For over the past 10years, I’ve had a financial advisor consistently restructure and diversify my portfolio/expenses and I’ve made over $3million in gains… might not be a lot but retirement doesn’t seem so farfetched anymore.

@@ThomasChai05Could you possibly recommend a CFA you've consulted with?

*Gertrude Margaret Quinto* is the licensed advisor I use. Just search the name. You’d find her webpage and necessary details to work with to set up an appointment.

There’s loads of opportunity to make up the shortfall. You can pay NI going forward at an accumulation of 1/35 for every year. Or if self employed, pay voluntary NI contributions up to retirement age (about £180 per year). If you have gaps, you have until next April to volunteer to pay those missing years at a cost of about £800pa….but for most people, they should just look to pay the lesser amount going forward.

Glad it was helpful!

Hi, thanks for subscribing. It’s great to hear that contacting out worked for you. I think that the calculation you’ve illustrated here will help others work out if they are better or worse off. And for you, presumably you’ll have full new state pension given you have another 14 years on the new system? U less you choose to retire early ofc. Thanks again for subscribing and commenting

@@DianneSullivan Thanks for replying. According to HMRC I’ve paid 34 yrs so far, one to go in terms of full contributions. Actually looking at 2-4 years before I call it a day 👍

@@Banthah My circumstances were similar to yours and, having retired last year on full state pension, c/o also proved to have been advantageous for me. But but but, that’s only because the legislative cookie crumbled the way it did over the years. This could not have been foreseen ‘back then’, and it could have turned out so differently (as indeed it has for so many - DoB/age being a critical factor - where what you get+when is, has often been, and will continue to be, a lottery’) So *for once* I ‘gained’ the system, which offsets to some extent all the times I didn’t! 🤣

@@jaywalker1233 Lol good one. Nice to feel you’ve “won” right?

They are all at the skateboard park or motocrossing ….🙄🤣

@@wl660or on love island 😂

​@@wl660I've seen a few in the cemetery too .....😂

The ones who had an easy life don't mix in our circles.

until 1947 the retirement age was 70 and the lifespan lower than today

You can probably buy the two years you need - search Money saving expert (Martin Lewis) for a great video on the subject. “Missing NI years”. It’ll likely cost you £800 approx per year max to increase your State pension by £300 pa approx so it pays for itself after say 3 years. Then it’s triple Locked of course 😀 If you’re lucky and have only missed a complete year by a few days it’ll only cost you a few pounds for a whole year of benefit.

So your state pension forecast is around £208?

@@DeeCee-nb6ev no, it is £198. Not sure if there is any COPE to be added.

Glad it was helpful!

You can find out how many qualifying years you have towards the state pension via the government website. Search for ‘Check your state pension forecast’. Here you can find out how much State Pension you could get etc.

its a promise made by the civil service that by contracting out of the s2p they would pay at least £90 per week to cover the shortfall in loss of the s2p so yes, you are getting this amount as part of your cs pension but it won't show as an arbitrary number. I am currently the same, having £50 a week COPE but already have over the 35 years needed for the NI contributions yet requiring another 4 years to cover the full "35" years.

Thanks for your reply. So am I right in thinking that they are using my CS pension, which would have been the same amount in any circumstance to cover the COPE amount? Eg my civil service pension is basically calculated on number of years service x final pay up to 50 s% ( on old CS classic pension rules) it does reflect that others seem to be getting COPE as an extra amount at SP age.

I wasn't formed too contacts out but l did and then panicked thinking was it a mistake but l turned state pension age this year and got a full pension. I'm baffled about what happened to SERPS, as my brother lives in Scotland and said that he was paid his SERPS separately from his state pension. I queried this, as l live in England and they told me it goes back into your pension and they don't payout like Scotland does. I'm confused. I got a full state pension anyway, so after they saying that they used it to top me up when l would have got it anyway, as l have worked for more than 35 years in total?

Labour will means test state pension plus means test the heating allowance or reduce it.

You would only of opted out if you agreed & signed a declaration supplied by your employer.

​@Lookup2Wakeup Probably true. But most people have no idea what all the paperwork is that they sign when they first start work. Specially true for younger people.

I had 39 years of NI prior to 2016 as only 30 of these count prior to 2016…so as I retired aged 60 in 2018 I’m missing some years to make the 35 required it’s crazy as I’ve got 42 years of NI.

@@BoninBrighton totally agree, crazy

@@philmeechan2666 mind you it’ll be Class 2 to buy that part year so I’d advise biting the bullet and doing it. Class 2 for a full year is only £150

Thanks for yours reply, I checked online, and the cost is £750, I'll phone re the class 2 and say what they say.

Agreed.. I'm confused and I certainly couldn't follow what the lady was saying 🤔

Well this is a legacy issue and it’s much simpler now

@@Banthah Seriously, are you having a laugh ?

@@gingerali In what way?

@@Banthah you state :,it’s much simpler now’ Really ?

Sorry to hear that. So you’re not getting your COPE payment from BT?

BT pension say i am but wont say how much is COPE and have said contact the DWP

Look for GMP in your pension details. That is the amount they had to guarantee when they contracted you out.

If you receive £220.00 a week for 20 years you will have been paid £228,800.0 now divide that sum by 50 years and you have £4,576. per year,

@@ChrisSmith-wz5ec then who receives the remuneration from those who died early?£4,500 was a fabulous amount per year 50 years ago..

The £4,576 is what you needed to pay per year for 50 years to receive a flat rate pension of £220.0 per year, as the state pension rises so would the amount you needed to pay. @@griswald7156

That is the sum you would need to pay to fund your state pension, all pension contribution are paid out to the pensioners who have already retired. @@griswald7156

The £4500 is the amount you would need to pay per year, so you could pay yourself £220.0 a week. The pension contributions you make are used to pay the pensions of existing pensioners, there is no fund or pot of money.

I can't be sure about your case, but in my case, it is a separate sum. Last year, I started to receive my DB pension at 60. This year I found out that at 65 I will get a pension relevant to being contracted out. I actually had no idea that this sum of money even existed until recently.

In effect, NI contributions are an additional income tax. The link between NI and pensions is really just nominal.

I agree.

Spot on.

Yes, but be pleased that you have supported a lot of "life style" single mothers ..... 🥱

@@Lookup2Wakeup here in kent as well get to support a lot of those poor migrant boat people. So glad they are put up in a swanky hotel, new mobile phone, designer clothes, etc. It’s so sad that they are not given a nice new car as well. 😬

You would think that if you have paid 35 years full NI, which you have it seems, the 15 should not come into it, I’m now worried when I’ve paid my 50 years of NI, of which I am now led to believe 12 years were cope I’m going to be sold short by the government too.

Gen Z are now known as Gen Sicknote. Pension & free house guaranteed if you on the sick 4 life.

@@stuartregan1627 don't forget genders Pick and mix like sweets

What a great way to incentivise Benefits Street. Tell people if the work too much & gain wealth they get no pension.

@@stuartregan1627 yes true If you worked all your life Still tax you until you dead My opinion Stick to benifits The government's Will burie you too No wonder millions of migrates coming to uk every year Free..

Your state pension will not go down. From the information in your post you are qualified to get the full state pension so it’s not going to reduce. The COPE amount does not get deducted from your state pension when you get to state pension age, it’s the amount estimated (and it’s overly generous) that you will be getting from your private pension. In a couple of years assuming the triple lock stays in place your £961 will actually increase.

Similar issue 45 years NI £961 SP and £81 COPE I thought I was going to lose, retired 2020 so using DB pension and get SP December this year @66, might just leave DC pension to grow now. Great video, thank you.

This is from google and from personal experience I can confirm this is what happens at the moment. Do you pay NI contributions on pension income? No, there are no National Insurance contributions to pay on any money you receive from your pension, including on annuity payments. You also don't have to pay National Insurance contributions on any lump sum you might choose to take from your pension (and the first 25% is free of income tax, as well).

@@ChrisSmith-wz5ec Thanks for the reply. Know I won't have to pay NI on pension income once I retire, but will I receive a reduced state pension if I stop paying my NI contributions 7 years before I qualify for my state pension at 67? I don't think I will get a reduced pension but this messed up system is very confusing.

If you've made the 35 years NI contributions then you will have the full pension when you reach your state pension age, I retired 3 years before my state pension age and didn't have a problem.@@kw8757

If you have made 35 years NI contributions you should get the full basic state pension@@kw8757

yes. Follow the link to see your COPE figure, if interested, for how much should be provided by your other pensions. But it doesn’t affect your State Pension.

The old state pension is means tested. You can get pension credit to top it up to the new rate. The kick in the teeth is people that bothered to save in a private pension don't get it. This means their private pension is making them worse off. Exactly the Government plan. Don't have a private pension , you will be screwed over.

I was not aware they the state pension was a benefit and was means tested . Someone please explain .

@@gingerali It's only the old state pension that's means tested. You get a pitifull £180 ish . Instead of doing the decent thing & giving pensioners the new rate they decided to means test the difference. This means people who took out private pensions were not entitled to the new rate if they had pension income. Government figures say pension credit is worth £3900. They paid into a private pension to be worse off. Disgusting.

@@stuartregan1627 thanks for that information, I wasn’t aware. As for the thieves in parliament who keep giving themselves annual pay raises, I have nothing but contempt for the lot of them .

You will get the full state pension amount as per the statemente, as each year of full NI contributions post 2016 will add 1/35 to your starting amount. You should also get the estimated £22.50 (COPE amount) from the scheme you contracted out to, although as the lady said this isn't guaranteed.

You’ve got the maximum 35 years in and get the full pension, you don’t get extra for the extra years.

I had the same problem and found out on retirement that I had to have 47 years N.i. because I'd paid less. It wasn't explained properly.

Is Cope paid in addition to State Pension? Your State Pension statement will show you how much additional State Pension you opted out of when you contracted out of the additional State Pension - your Contracted Out Pension Equivalent (COPE) amount. The COPE amount is paid as part of your private pension and not by the Government.

@@ChrisSmith-wz5ec So if I’m reading this right, gov will give me approx £160. And the private pension is expected to cover the COPE amount. I guess this won’t change even if I contribute more years. I guess the statement isn’t, IMO, exactly clear.

You get the full basic state pension @@ThePeteW

The £60 is the additional state pension you would have received had you not contracted out,

I same as you in amount. Still not sure how much I will get

The NI contributions you would have made had you not contracted out is the difference in the two sums.

Assuming the triple lock stays in place it will actually go up. The £221.20 is what you would get now if you were of state pension age so whatever the state pension has risen to by the time you are 67 then thats what you will receive. The COPE amount is an estimate by HMRC so its not reflective of what the actual pensioner provider will pay.

They will assume that you will make NI contributions untill your retirement date ,and , that could have an effect on your state pension if you don't have 35 years of contributions without any contracting out

Hi Tony, I'm sorry to hear this. If you haven't already, contact the Pension Service www.gov.uk/contact-pension-service It could be related to your contributions prior to the introduction of the new state pension. Perhaps you were opted out of SERPs prior to 2016 in which case you might have the shortfall in another pension? I explain SERPs here kzfaq.info/get/bejne/j7-ZY9lzlsfLnmg.html Contacting the pension service should give you the specifics for you.

Hi, thank you so much for coming back to me. Yes I have spoken to the relevant department and it is owing to contracting out prior to 2016 although the explanation seemed very complicated. I do have the luxury of being invited to pay many hundreds of pounds to increase my state pension offer but I suppose I am just annoyed that after 42 years of full contributions plus 6 at a reduced amount I still have to add more! Thank you again, Tony.

If its anything like me, for the 50 years i worked not a penny.

You would be getting the £221.20 per week (it’s actually paid every four weeks in arrears so thats 13 payments in a year) if you were to be retiring this year. Am guessing you have another two years to go to get state pension so you have to factor in the triple lock, so it will rise. The COPE amount is an estimate so it’s not accurate. When you were contracted out that part of the NI should have been going into a private pension scheme which should appear as your protected rights. Contracting out ended in April 2016 so everyone since then has at least 8 years full NI since then. As you had 40 years prior to this date of paying NI, theoretically you could have been contracted out for 38 years (contracting out started in 1978). My understanding is that the COPE amount £82.51 should be added to the basic state pension £169.50 which is £252.01. Subtract the full state pension amount from that £252.01 - 221.20 = £30.81. That £30.81 is the estimated amount you should be getting from your private pension per week. Again, it’s an estimated amount so not accurate and more than likely over generous. My understanding of this may of course be wrong which hopefully Diane may be able to throw some light on?

@@DeeCee-nb6ev sorry I meant to put that in my post, I was contracted out for 12 years from 1986 to 1998. And thank you for your reply, I can breathe a little easier now. And yes I have2 more years to work.

@@nickcastings1568 I seem to remember as well that the forecast you are given is per month so thats 12 payments per year however when you actually claim your state pension (as i mention above) its actually paid every four weeks so thats 13 payments per year. I cannot actually verify that (the forecast) now as i am receiving the state pension which is every four weeks. From what i recall my forecast was also around £221 however when i claimed the pension it was actually a couple of pounds higher and payable very four weeks. Perhaps you could check your forecast again and verify that the forecast is per month and not every four weeks.

Hi, The amount of state pension it says you will get on your forecast is what you will get. So if it says £221.20 per week, that’s the current full state pension amount. The COPE is an estimate of what you will get from wherever your contracted out contributions were going. But this is just an estimate and you have to find that pension yourself. DWP don’t manage this for you

@@DeeCee-nb6ev yes it is per month.

Don't forget to deduct your cope amount from your state pension forecast figure as that will be the amount going into your bank account. The cope amount has been put into your private pensions.

@@kevingreenwood6705 yes, just funny how I who paid £300/month NI opted out get less state pension than the person who paid £30/month NI not opted out. No wonder tax avoidance and preference to earn money elsewhere are so popular

Exactly and they will add another year to make it 68. Plus it’s a lot more as you could get state pension at 60 so 8 years lost at £11,500 at todays money with increases bet it’s nearer to £100k missed out on I reckon by the time I eventually get the state pension. Robbing buggers

I would think most people factor in the state pension when they are looking at their retirement income. Some people only have the state pension.

Why wouldn’t you? At over £10k/year, it provides a guaranteed return equivalent to at least £250k of other assets. It’s very valuable!

It's worth around 300K so you would be pretty silly not to factor it in after paying for it for 40 years plus.

Those that don't should have paid more attention in maths, either way.

Worked 50 years in low paid labouring work, I'm not well educated or qualified at anything. But I'm a grafter and I deserve a decent state pension.

Nope. I’m only just browsing them now. Nothing to do with me I’m afraid. I’m not sure what you’re experiencing but could be the vagaries of the algorithm

@@DianneSullivan what I am experiencing is my comments appearing in top comments on my phone but disappearing when logged on with another device. If I made offensive comments I could fully understand my comments being removed but I am respectful & would never do that.

​@@stuartregan1627It's u-tube thing I'm afraid. I've had the same thing happen, but not on this channel. I always check that my comment has loaded, especially if it's detailed. Blood annoying when it just disappears though.... 😡

@@stuartregan1627 Go to the top of the comments and change "sort by" from "top comments" to "newest". All the hidden-for-no-fkg-reason comments will appear, but you'll have to scroll thru. I don't know why YT does it this way, it's annoying asf.

@@PotBanginEejit yeah I know it appears in new comments but is hidden in the top comments. Very very strange . It's as if somebody does not want the comments to be seen as few people read new comments.

I would rather have all my contributions back and then fend for myself

@@jasonaris5316 Not going to happen because the state pension is a big Ponzi scheme.

Disagree with you it's the latter years of life that you need state pension and the access that gives you to additional support benefits.

@@jasonaris5316 There are no contributions to give you back, the state pension is just a big ponzi scheme.

​@@mrright8794the state pension does not give you access to other benefits, only pension Credit gives you access to other benefits.

That's me. 🥱 I get an additional £9 every four weeks, over the full state pension, plus £50k contracted out contributions in my private pension (when I last looked a couple of years ago.) Just luck on my part ..... 😳