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Will I get the NEW UK State Pension?

The NEW UK State Pension is £155 a week.  Your starting amount will be calculated as at 6 April 2016.

The new state pension is linked to your National Insurance contributions.

The entitlement you may get if you retire after 6th April 2016, will be the higher of what was due to you under the old system.

The new state pension of £155 will only be paid in full to those who have fully contributed (with a full National Insurance record, i.e. 35 years).

The old or the New – Will I get the New State Pension or the Old State Pension?

Old Rules

The “old rules” figure will be higher for those big income earners who were never (or very rarely) contracted out.  Contracted out means you contracted out of the SERPS pension and redirected the contribution to a personal pension, or company pension scheme.

The amount under the “old rules” will probably be higher than the new basic pension rules, so you would be entitled to the “old rules”

Even people on more average earnings with good contribution records and who have not contracted out much, will have a higher state pension entitlement from the “old rules” rather than the new basic rules.

New Rules

Some people will see their old rules entitlement has now become much lower with the new basic state pension rules.

The main people this will affect are the self-employed, (who never had an entitlement to SERPS or S2P).

The same goes for people with very small amounts of SERPS or S2P. These people will get “new basic” (£155) which is more than they’d have got from their “old basic” entitlement.

The New pension is higher but I’m not getting that amount!?!

The reason is that you have fallen into the category of the most complex group people – those who were contracted out of NI for much of their working lives.

As a result the SERPS or S2P part of their old state pension is reduced to take account of your choice to pay lower NI contributions and build up some private pension instead.

Under the new rules, a contracted out reduction applies, so even though they might have contributed for the full 30 years for the new basic state pension, your full entitlement will be reduced.

I am no longer eligible for the State Pension even though under the old rules I would have received a pension!?!

Unfortunately the NEW UK State Pension introduced a minimum amount of years required in order to receive any pension after 6 April 2016.  You now need 10 qualifying years to be eligible to claim.

What can I do to achieve the maximum amount of State Pension payable to me?

If you have found yourself ineligible for the new UK State Pension as at 6 April 2016, all is not lost!

You are able to purchase additional years to meet the minimum requirement.

If you have not achieved the maximum amount of UK State Pension you can still purchase additional tax years and increase your entitlement.

If you do not meet the minimum UK State Pension and would like to increase your entitlement rather than lose it, or you have any questions relating to the NEW State Pension call now on 08 9233 9269 or email pensions@ptspecialists.com.au.

written by:

McKinley Plowman