Amazing video, A friend of mine referred me to a financial adviser sometime ago and we got to talking about investment and money. I started investing with $150k and in the first 2 months, my portfolio was reading $274,800. Crazy right!, I decided to reinvest my profit and get more interesting. For over a year we have been working together making consistent profit just bought my second home 2 weeks ago and care for my family.
@Richard-q1Ай бұрын
Hi. I’ve been forced to find additional sources of income as I got retrenched. I barely have time to continue trading and watch my investments since I had my second child. Do you think I should take a break for a while from the market and focus on other things or return whenever I have free time or is it a continuous process? Thanks
@Marten_tАй бұрын
@@Richard-q1 However, if you do not have access to a professional like Clementina Abate Russo, quitting your job to focus on trading may not be the best approach. It is important to consider all options and seek guidance from reliable sources before making any major decisions. Consulting with an AI or using automated trading systems can also be helpful in managing investments while balancing other commitments
@Richard-q1Ай бұрын
@@Marten_t Oh please I’d love that. Thanks!
@Marten_tАй бұрын
@@Richard-q1 Clementina Abate Russo is her name
@Marten_tАй бұрын
Lookup with her name on the webpage.
@rubywhite3122 ай бұрын
Excellent! Thank you very much, Dianne, for sharing! Very useful advice and tips! 👍
@DianneSullivan2 ай бұрын
Glad it was helpful!
@gp2670Ай бұрын
Thank you once again Diane. As previously mentioned I have gaps in NI contributions which under certain circumstances would open the door to a range of benefits. I have to say that being still years away from the state pension the government forecast states that I am entitled to a full basic state pension and this cannot be improved and any NI contributions would from now on go to the NHS and other public services. It's a fundamentally flawed system, and yes I did pay many thousands into the NI pot already. Why not pay state pensions out according to contributions rather than a uniform state pension for everyone. One of the other commentators is right, it feels more of a state benefit rather than a pension. If I stopped working for the next few years it would dent my basic pension payment. Essentially I would be subsidising rather than building up the state pension further.
@limyrob13832 ай бұрын
My mother who passed away 2 years ago aged 97 paid great attention to the pension rules. She qualified for pension credit, and as you say, it opens many doors. It lead to her service charges being paid (she owned he leasehold flat outright) , council tax being paid, it made the application for mobility allowance much easier, and it qualified her for fully paid social care at home. She lived independently in her own home until a few days before her death from old age. As executor for her estate I estimate the pension credit lead to £20,000 (and it could be double that) in additional income and savings.
@happychappy711510 күн бұрын
Having been through a review of my HMRC status recently, the costs for filling gaps is all laid out under one's HMRC account. Deadlines for topping up keep getting extended; most likely cause for this is the hugely time-consuming & difficult process of getting personal advice out of HMRC.😢
@lawrencer86732 ай бұрын
its a very good point you raised Dianna about pension credit, i have not seen this mentioned on other people's vlogs. Also people should not rely on the forecast on the government website as this does not include if you contracted out of SERPS, some people do not know if they had been contracted out of SERPS, some people will be in for a shock to find the will not actually get the pension that is shown on the government website & may be a lot lower even if they hsve worked over 35 years.
@NA55AR_K2 ай бұрын
🤗 thank you for this update
@DianneSullivan2 ай бұрын
You are so welcome
@mygodpeoplebelievehim30842 ай бұрын
It is incorrect to say that you cannot pay Gaps in your ni over six year's ago you can but you only have till 2025 to do this I think you can pay from 2006 (I think) it should have ended in 2024 but they extended it
@DianneSullivan2 ай бұрын
You’re right,I said usually up to 6 years or words or that effect. I try to make my videos as future proof as possible in case people at watching next year, appreciating that rules change all the time. Unfortunately I can’t cover every nuance in every video as that would make even more people tune out 😉 The general point I’m trying to get across is still valid, I believe, which is to check for gaps you have but then carefully consider the ROI of paying to fill gaps based on your personal circumstances. I hope we can agree on that irrespective of the specific rules that might apply now or in the future wrt paying for gaps.
@alecdurbaville63552 ай бұрын
And they STILL haven’t sorted the records out. Everything is ‘pending review’ or whatever is says on there.
@guyr73512 ай бұрын
@@alecdurbaville6355yes I have the same message whereas previously it has stated I am entitled to a full pension. I stopped working last November and am using personal pension funds until state pension kicks in Feb 26. I have heard that if you don’t pay NI contributions upto the time taking state pension then your pension will be reduced and I am trying to see if that is correct
@chrisraine46782 ай бұрын
Always worth checking online your NI Payments i was missing one year completely even though I had been working for same company through that period the records had not been uploaded I had to get confirmation from company and then year was added but was worth checking anyway.
@feliciaflinders2 ай бұрын
Back dating to 2006 was extended to the end of this tax year.
@DianneSullivan2 ай бұрын
Thanks. I left out that point of detail in case people are watching in future years -perhaps I should have been more specific than “usually”. Always points of detail that eagle eyed and knowledgeable viewers like you will spot, which is great!
@feliciaflinders2 ай бұрын
@DianneSullivan this video is fantastic and well explained 👏. It's not always right for filling in the gaps. Thanks for this video.
@MN-gp7cg2 ай бұрын
Really useful video - thank you!
@lindaallen2412Ай бұрын
Thank you so much for your help, but if don't know you anyone can help me, with this next question, I live in French but have never worked here as my now X husband did. Can I get any extra help from tax credit or the like, as my state pension is only worth 102 pounds a week and I am totally reliant on that and have no other income or savings
@richard_26722 ай бұрын
I worked in Canada officially for 12 years. I understand they take this into account due to the tax treaty however this will not be confirmed until I am ready to retire which is not for another 12 years or so, by which time it will be too late to back date payments. So this is not an ideal situation!! 😥
@nicks49342 ай бұрын
People still believe that the state pension is not a benefit. It absolutely is and can be changed or withdrawn by the government.
@dettisyo2 ай бұрын
what a minefield to navigate what is right today might be wrong in the future
@tomstopper52812 ай бұрын
Please fill in gaps in your state pension. Most people can’t afford a private pension which is generally based on stocks and shares. Pension credits could be removed at any time.
@lawrencer86732 ай бұрын
It's very unlikely the pension credit will removed, what is more likely is the state pension will be means tested as they do in Australia.
@nicks49342 ай бұрын
The state pension can be withdrawn at any time. It’s a benefit
@Thaitanium7311 күн бұрын
@@nicks4934 No government is going to remove the State Pension, as they know if they did then their Party who ever it may be would no longer be in existence shortly afterwards
@belindalarmour54572 ай бұрын
Thank you, very helpful
@DianneSullivan2 ай бұрын
Glad it was helpful!
@traceywilliams59852 ай бұрын
I am fast approaching 66 and due my pension next March, I have checked my forecast regularly and it stated that I have 35 full years but my pension payment will be £180 per week. That is definitely not the full amount, when I queries it with HMRC last week they said 35 is only approximate and that the company I worked for could have opted out at some point meaning I hadn’t got the full years even though it says I have. So confusing, no idea what to do now for the best.
@rowan76582 ай бұрын
If I had followed their advice and paid to cover my gaps I would have been shafted even more than I have been as A WASPI. I had more than paid enough contributions by the time those bar stewards paid me my pension. My advice…. Give them nothing because that’s what you will get back.
@Thaitanium7311 күн бұрын
My advice would be to ignore your advice and do the planning to ones specific circumstances
@user-ky7fe1ce3p2 ай бұрын
I’ve got so many gaps as was self employed for many years (Taxi driving) I paid my tax but always seemed never to have enough cash for the NI so would leave it till later in year and then seemed to forget about it most years. It would cost me a small fortune to pay. 15 plus I think. At 53 I am full time carer for my mum (93) at the moment so can’t afford to top up. Because I get carers allowance they are paying it for me at the moment. But when my mum goes I don’t think I will pay anymore contributions. I hope to be left enough money to buy a house which I will do up and sell on, as I can do everything from plumbing electrics plastering carpentry ect. So hopefully do that a couple of times to make some money then I won’t be able to afford to live my property, so will rent it out and find a cheaper way to live, possibly off grid somewhere ! And if not pension credit it is lol !
@DeeCee-nb6ev2 ай бұрын
I am surprised that the figures for people living only on the state pension are as low as you say though in theory with people more aware of saving for later in life it should drop. Then again with everything so expensive now it could possibly rise as people have to live for today and paying your rent / mortgage, bills and general living will come before paying into a private pension. Going by this video, if you have a smallish private pension pot of less than £100,000 you could be worse off than someone only on the state pension and claiming pension credit. If you had contracted out as well in the past you cannot buy back those years either (if you wanted to) either? Any chance you could explain why that if you contracted out yet had paid 35 full years NI, so worked 50 years contracted out for a maximum of 15 years leaving 35 years of full payments you are still given the estimated figure you would have had if you had not contracted out. My assumption is that as the new state pension came in in 2015 then you have to knock 9 years off for the period from then up to now? So you’re now 66, 50 years working. Thats 41 years working up to 2015 and the new state pension and the end of contracting out. The 15 years you were contracted out is deducted from the 41 years which leaves you paying in fully on 26 years to the NI system as it was up to 2015. Is that more or less how its worked out? I would recommend that no one defers taking the state pension more than 18 months as statistically your not likely to live long enough that the increased amount you receive from deferring will cover the amount you had not taken in that 18 month period. It would not surprise me if at some future date whoever is in government will means test the state pension. Great video overall and relevant to a very large majority of pensioners particularly if your approaching retirement.
@DianneSullivan2 ай бұрын
Hi there, you are right that you can't buy back the contracted out years per se but every year you are paying into the new state pension wipes out any contracted out years. But the challenge there is having enough runway (meaning 35 years) to make up for the loss. I've made other videos on both contracting out and the likelihood of means testing that might help :-) kzfaq.info/get/bejne/j7-ZY9lzlsfLnmg.html kzfaq.info/get/bejne/fKmKaMd917SnhX0.html
@johnkelly68612 ай бұрын
Thks for the info.
@DianneSullivan2 ай бұрын
You are most welcome.
@acurrentname2 ай бұрын
I took early retirement and already have the full qualifying years but I now have two years gaps which would cost around £824 and £850 to fill. Be aware that paying for these gaps is pointless as it will not result in any enhanced payment. I wonder how many people fall for that.
@davideyres9552 ай бұрын
Can you top up your national insurance for years previous years outside of the time limits mentioned here? I was given bad advice to opt out around 2001 and lost 2 years. In addition I also was in the local government superannuation scheme from 88-99 which I believe also opted out.
@roberthuntley10902 ай бұрын
I've got 41 full years of contributions, but will get a reduced pension because I was contracted out. I understand that buying extra years before 2016 won't do anything to address this, but buying missing years from 2016 onwards would add 1/35th of the full pension for each year onwards. Would be grateful if someone could confirm this, and point out any downside risk. I'm currently 64 so need to make a decision by next summer about whether to this or not.
@DianneSullivan2 ай бұрын
Yes buying missing years on the new state pension does add 1/35th to it. Whether or not this is worth doing will depend on your personal circumstances such as any DB or DC pension income you might have, any other savings and investments etc. The number of years you need to fill and the total cost of those missing years c/w what you would get on pension credit is a critical factor. Presumably your contracted out portion was being paid into a separate pension by your employer at the time and you will get a pension from that? As covered in this video, if you are solely reliant on the state pension and you have several years worth of gaps to fill then you might be better off not paying for them and getting pension credit instead.
@roberthuntley10902 ай бұрын
@@DianneSullivan Thanks for the reply. I'm already living on a DB pension, so the state pension is a top up rather than essential income. Pension credit isn't an issue, moreso the risk of becoming a higher rate taxpayer when a third pension kicks in at age 75, which combined with dividend income could push me across the threshold..
@watto77282 ай бұрын
So more benefits for people who have put less into the system, its just wrong.
@barrydwyer20392 ай бұрын
I have 36 years of Nic's , 30 of those were contracted out so I have a company pension too. I do not get the full state pension because of this however trying to top up to get the new full state pension would be money down the drain asIt won't make any difference. As it is at the moment I'm about £2k a year worse off on state pension about £40 per week. this gap will grow incrementally as yearly triple lock is applied to each pension old and New.
@BoninBrighton2 ай бұрын
This isn’t true. You need 30 years pre 2016 and 5 afterwards for the basic SP. Nothing to do with contracted out.
@barrydwyer20392 ай бұрын
@@BoninBrighton New to me, However immaterial, because all my contributions were pre 2016. 1975 to 2012, the basic state pension pre 2016 is not the same as the new state pension post 2016. Being contracted out means you are under the old system without paying into (SERPS) as you were paying into a company pension. However if you wern't contracted out you get the second state pension (SERPS) that might actually pay more than the new state pension.
@BoninBrighton2 ай бұрын
@@barrydwyer2039 only 30 pre 2016 NIs count (I had 39) it’s post 2016 where you need 5 more. I retired 2019 so I’m missing one full year of NI despite having 42! Honestly it took me ages to understand this. SERPS is separate to the basic SP .
@daviddawson90992 ай бұрын
It is just a crazy system. People who have worked and saved should be better off than someone on benefits but the benefits should also provide an acceptable standard of living for those in retirement. I feel sorry for the youngsters who probably will be working well into their seventies if capable.
@keithedwards75752 ай бұрын
I’ve noticed the wording - 35 years required for full state pension is no longer shown on HMRC website/ app.
@DianneSullivan2 ай бұрын
very interesting! I hadn't noticed that. Thanks
@markstill5152 ай бұрын
Can’t rely on benefits they change too much and take a lot of stress applying for and renewing. Fight for workplace pensions join a union
@ianwilliamson29802 ай бұрын
Whats pension credit.i got working tax credits but wont get universal credit from next year as have over the 16k in savings limit .
@MatthewEng25932 ай бұрын
I chose not to top up because they keep putting back the retirement age. And by the time I can retire I will have enough years of NI anyway
@George5Bells2 ай бұрын
I have been lucky to retire early taking a small work pension and with my husband's state pension, plus his small pension we can manage. I got a state pension review and I'm one year short of the full 35 qualifying years, I've decided not to pay that one year, I have 4 more years left until I get my state pension, I don't see me doing back into full time work but if I did them the one year work be filled. For tax purposes unless they raise the threshold then I think I'll be better off with a small amount taken off my state pension + private pension keeping me under the threshold 🤞
@DianneSullivan2 ай бұрын
Fingers cross for you too! Thanks for commenting and sharing your experience and thoughts.
@mjax86142 ай бұрын
Does this mean that at state retirement age if you have no other income then your income will be topped up to the equivalent of full state pension? And according to the benefit checkers I have used, you will get rent and council tax paid? When I do the maths that's a bit more than I end up with on an occupational pension, and I live perfectly well on this. So why do we hear about so many pensioners living in poverty? It could only be that either they are home-owners and have high associated costs, or they are not claiming their entitlement. The latter is concerning. My NI contributions are just a few years short. I'm not going to pay. If nothing changes i would get the money back by about age 70, but I fee l it is crystal ball territory. Someone made a good point in your comments that in the future we may have to pay NI for even more years in order to receive full pension, but I'm still not making up the shortfall, unless I win money in a raffle/premium bonds, but I certainly won't pay it out of income or savings. And the gain is not as much as some people say, as many of us will pay income tax on the state pension.
@chung3192 ай бұрын
Hi just came across your video & have subscribed to it, great informative information .just when I go onto the gov website to check my pension &NI I also see a message saying I cannot improve on this(figures I assume)?
@DianneSullivan2 ай бұрын
Thanks for subscribing! I can't say for sure, but if your record is telling you that can't improve on your projected state pension then that likely means you will be getting the full amount - or that your contracted out choice prior to new state pension can't be undone.
@chung3192 ай бұрын
@@DianneSullivan ok thank you for that I'll look into this further & look forward to future videos👍
@lawrencer86732 ай бұрын
You will need to request a pension forecast as this will give you the correct amount you will receive.
@ianwilliamson29802 ай бұрын
So if you pay it from 16 to 51 you get it anyway the full state pension?
@bluenose0072 ай бұрын
Dont buy stamps if you dont have enough stamps it will be made up by pension credits which is a benifit and this will give you more money because being on a benifit gives you entitlement to things like no council tax and low income benifits. I have full stamps and am Worst off.
@ianwilliamson29802 ай бұрын
I cashed in me private pension put half in stocks n shares isa and rest in normal isa .felt too many charges in the novia pension i was in
@AgileSnowWeasel2 ай бұрын
That must have been a costly waste of time when you could have just transferred the pension to another pension provider (eg a SIPP you control yourself).
@DianneSullivan2 ай бұрын
Yikes! so you paid tax on the full amount of your pension in one tax year?
@michaeledwards80792 ай бұрын
what about auto enrolment that is being forced upon us
@DianneSullivan2 ай бұрын
I'm interested to hear why you are objecting to auto enrolment?
@AgileSnowWeasel2 ай бұрын
It seems very strange to me. The entire system seems flawed, it is surely better to just get rid of the qualifying years test entirely and give everyone a full pension. People who are in work will have contributed to a private pension since a decade ago, or should have arranged something if they are self-employed, that's the boost they get for being employed. Note that Stay At Home Mums get 12 years NI credit at least if they are in receipt of child benefit (even if it's paid back), as long as a child is under 12, also people off work long-term sick, and I believe jobseekers. Older people got three years because of university too.
@vamboroolz16122 ай бұрын
What is the risk of the government changing the rules between now and when I get my pension,( 8 years time), meaning that I will need more than 35 years of contributions? I currently have 35 years of qualifying contributions but no longer work and have zero income, living off savings and my partners income. I feel I need to go past the 35 years so I safeguard myself to ensure I do actually get the full state pension. Is this sensible or money down the drain? My partner will have a sizeable private pension, I will have a very small private pension. I am pretty sure we will not qualify for any other benefits come retirement.
@Thaitanium7311 күн бұрын
There is no risk of that happening, as there was legislation passed in Parliament after the WASPI women debacle which means that a minimum of 10 year notice period must be given to anyone who will be affected by changes in the State pension such as pensionable age, qualifying years etc.
@Thaitanium7311 күн бұрын
By-the-way if you already have a small private pension then you are better off topping this up yearly if you can afford it. Even if you are not working or paying tax you can still make yearly contributions to your private pension of £3,600, made up of your contributions of £2,880 and the taxman’s contribution of £720.
@NTSCuser2 ай бұрын
I'm one the people who is worse-off for having paid full NI contributions. To make things worse I have to listen to a friend on Pension Credit telling me how much better-off he is and refusing to believe I am not getting the same benefits as him!😡
@DianneSullivan2 ай бұрын
So sorry to hear that.
@dmc94872 ай бұрын
Morning Dianne, im in this exact group. A few years NI missing etc. Have an MOD pension due at 60, (3 years from). I think that will push me over the threshold. I won't be adding to my NI record. Especially with the incoming party/Govt being in chage
@DianneSullivan2 ай бұрын
Hi there, thanks for commenting. Could be worth checking when the time is right (ie state pension age) to see if you are over the pension credit threshold perhaps?
@lawrencer86732 ай бұрын
I strongly advise that you get a pension forecast as this would be more reliable than the government website figures. People have worked 35+ years & after getting a pension forecast found they wound receive a lower amount of pension due to Contracted out of SERPS, some people were unaware they had even Contracted out of SERPS.
@malgoode2 ай бұрын
Pension credit is a farce. My pension is only £152.19 and that includes graduated pension that i paid extra for and a full 25 PENCE a week for being 80 years old! first I couldn't apply because my wife was below pension age so I am also treated as below pension age which was made worse when they changed womens pension age from 60 to 66 causing me to have to wait a further 6 years before I am classed as a pensioner. Now she does receive her pension (a reduced pension also) but I am still not eligible because our combined reduced pensions are above the threshold to receive pension credit. The answer, I am told, is to divorce my wife and I will then be eligible. I do not understand why I had to have 14 years NI more than others just because I was born in 1943. 44 years they tell me I needed but I only had 39 so lost a lot of my pension but others slightly younger only needed 30 years. Why? I Started to work at 15 (1958) and paid NI out of my then £3 a week salary but I can't afford to live at 80. What a crazy world we live in, work a lifetime and end up in poverty.
@paulbragget3832 ай бұрын
I have a small private pension of ~ 6k/year, topping up my state pension will take me above the current tax theshold of 12.5k. Any thoughts Dianne?
@Thaitanium7311 күн бұрын
Why would you not want your retirement income to go above the tax threshold?
@gasman61632 ай бұрын
it. is critical that contact is made with the >gov contact, the numbers displayed are only a guide and you will receive ZERO benefit for paying some years. speak to them
@janeknight35972 ай бұрын
Do you honestly think that anybody wants to be dependent on pension credit??
@DianneSullivan2 ай бұрын
Of course not! But does anybody want to rely on state pension alone, potentially get into debt to fill gaps and then miss out on the additional benefits?
@secretsquirrel61242 ай бұрын
If U turn stazi starmer gets in they will take your money
@richardn21292 ай бұрын
I've never heard something so stupid..... use your pension pot to pay off your credit card. The dumbest thing I've ever heard.
@DianneSullivan2 ай бұрын
So are you saying that it's better for people on low income to; - keep the £10k of debt on a credit card with the high APR, - loose additional benefits they would otherwise be entitled to because they have a pension pot and - not spend the £10k of pension pot that might be growing at 7% if they're lucky and - then struggle to pay off the debt while it gets ever bigger each month and their spiral of debt continues. I'm really interested to know why you think this specific scenario is the "dumbest thing you've ever heard". Constructive feedback would be the kinder thing to do when all I'm trying to do is help and inform people with lower incomes in this video
@richardn2129Ай бұрын
@DianneSullivan Someone's feelings are hurt lol. I would advice someone retiring in debt to get the debt written off, which is easy enough to do. And keep there pension, a 10k pension is approximately £60 per month to a person has just a state pension that would help to pay another bill. xx