National Insurance question

[glasgowcyclist]

checked mine today (thanks to this thread) because I know I've missed a few years.... 29 in the bag, 4 missed, 18 to go... unless they up the retirement age again.

Also watch that they don't increase the number of qualifying years, it used to be 30 years and it's now 35.

 

[MontyVeda]

Also watch that they don't increase the number of qualifying years, it used to be 30 years and it's now 35.

I'm sure it said 30 on the .gov website.

 

[Tin Pot]

I would be greatly obliged if anyone can inform me if when you’re in full time education ie doing a degree for 3 years, that you get your national insurance contributions paid that go towards your state pension?
I have looked on The yougov pension website at my forecast and I am a few years short of the full 35years and those years I was at university have not been credited? I am quite prepared to buy a few years back but cannot get the above question asked satisfactorily. I have written to my local pension office but had no reply, I have emailed but not been acknowledged and I have tried ringing a couple of numbers but frustratingly keep getting passed from pillar to post, speaking to an automated reply, pressing different numbers for depts that can’t help even one lady telling me I need to contact the Job Centre which I did and they said they didn’t know why I was told that. I did think that you did get them credited as my wife has 43 years contributions 3 of those when she was at university in the 70s. I will be eligible for my state pension in 3 years time but I really need a definitive answer to base future decisions on.
Thanks for any advice that can be offered.

It’s all lies and misdirection - they will extract money any way they can that doesn’t have you rioting in the streets. They will give back as little as possible, likewise.

 

[glasgowcyclist]

I'm sure it said 30 on the .gov website.

It does for us oldies, the 35 year term is for those who haven't made any NI contributions prior to April 2016.
I should have been clearer.

 

[NorthernDave]

checked mine today (thanks to this thread) because I know I've missed a few years.... 29 in the bag, 4 missed, 18 to go... unless they up the retirement age again.

They will - I'd stake my pension on it...

 

[midlife]

They will - I'd stake my pension on it...

And then they will start means testing it......

 

[MontyVeda]

And then they will start means testing it......

about time too

 

[glasgowcyclist]

£47.50 a week.

You won't get that with ten years' contributions!

Aaargh, I've been mixing up weeks and months in this thread and you're completely correct, apologies.
My only defence is that I had two beers last night and it has fuddled my brain.

I've corrected the other post where I referred to monthly pension instead of weekly.

 

[Mr Celine]

Thanks for all the very swift and informative replies. I have done a bit more research and it seems to bear most of the above out. Yes @glasgowcyclist I was at uni 1989 to 1992 as a mature student. The only anomaly I don’t get is why my wife is not 3 years missing while at university?
Again much appreciated.

Do you have offspring and if so were you or your wife getting child benefit when you were at university?

 

[Davos87]

Yes we had a child at the time and we were in receipt of family allowance.
One thing we did yesterday was create an account on the pension yougov site to check my wife’s pension record and for the three years she was at uni 1972-75 she has been credited 3 full years contributions. She didn’t work whilst at college or during her summer break so all this is a bit of a puzzler. The policy on crediting student contribution may have been changed in the interim maybe but as previously stated trying to speak to someone or correspond with someone who can give a definitive answer is very frustrating. I don’t want to purchase 3 years back for example then get to know down the line I didn’t need to.
Once again thanks for taking the time to all that replied.

 

[Mr Celine]

Yes we had a child at the time and we were in receipt of family allowance.
One thing we did yesterday was create an account on the pension yougov site to check my wife’s pension record and for the three years she was at uni 1972-75 she has been credited 3 full years contributions. She didn’t work whilst at college or during her summer break so all this is a bit of a puzzler. The policy on crediting student contribution may have been changed in the interim maybe but as previously stated trying to speak to someone or correspond with someone who can give a definitive answer is very frustrating. I don’t want to purchase 3 years back for example then get to know down the line I didn’t need to.
Once again thanks for taking the time to all that replied.

Next question:
Was the child benefit paid to you or to your wife?
If it was paid to your wife, was she paying class 1 NI contributions at the time? (ie was she working)

 

[Davos87]

Thanks for your interest in this @Mr Celine. Yes she took 6 months off work for her maternity leave entitlement and then returned to full time teaching. I was working full time and I’m certain the benefit was paid in my wife’s name.
Won’t go into all the details but due to unforeseen family issues I gave my job up for a few years to look after our son as my wife earned much more than me at the time. I learned much later that there is a Home responsibility credit attached to child allowance that automatically goes to the woman. I knew nothing about it at the time but I could have applied to have that credit payed in my name and been credited with NI contributions for those few years while I was at home looking after our son so I lost out.

 

[User10119]

learned much later that there is a Home responsibility credit attached to child allowance that automatically goes to the woman. I knew nothing about it at the time but I could have applied to have that credit payed in my name and been credited with NI contributions for those few years while I was at home looking after our son so I lost out.

It automatically goes to the parent or carer that applies for the child benefit, I think. It doesn't get paid to anyone if you don't apply, and there can only be one application per household (so co-habiting co-parents with two children can't apply separately for child benefit for one child each, but co-parents living separately can do so) with blended families being treated as a single family. To claim you need to have responsibility for a child (normally but not necessarily your own) and spend at least the amount of money that you would receive in child benefit on them.

So basically, regardless of gender if you have a 2 parent household where one is earning and paying NI and the other is not, it makes long term sense for the non-earning person to claim child benefit and not the earning person.

I don't think you can change it retrospectively though.

 

[Mr Celine]

Thanks for your interest in this @Mr Celine. Yes she took 6 months off work for her maternity leave entitlement and then returned to full time teaching. I was working full time and I’m certain the benefit was paid in my wife’s name.
Won’t go into all the details but due to unforeseen family issues I gave my job up for a few years to look after our son as my wife earned much more than me at the time. I learned much later that there is a Home responsibility credit attached to child allowance that automatically goes to the woman. I knew nothing about it at the time but I could have applied to have that credit payed in my name and been credited with NI contributions for those few years while I was at home looking after our son so I lost out.

That's what I was angling after.
HRP doesn't automatically go to the woman, it goes to the first payee on the CHB claim, which was normally the woman unless you both agreed otherwise. (I was part-time to look after the Celinettes so had the CHB in my name.)
You can still apply for the HRP if your wife didn't need it, which she doesn't as she will have been paying NI in her job as a teacher. There is a particular form you need to fill in, I'll check which one it is at work tomorrow.

 

[User10119]

Either of these look any use?

This one's to do with transferring the more recent NI Credits - where it seems that any transfer of credits has to be applied for within a year
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-insurance-credits-for-parents-and-carers-cf411a

Transferring entitlement to credits for parents and carers
Time limits for application
Your application for this credit must be made before the end of the tax year (5
April) following the period for which you want to transfer the credits for example,
if the transfer period is in the 2016 to 2017 tax year, and this is a qualifying year
for the parent or carer registered for Child Benefit, you must apply for a transfer
of those credits to your National Insurance account before 5 April 2018

And this is about transferring the HRP that they replaced, so if your 'missing years' are between 1978 and 2010 you can get them transferred retrospectively.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publi...rm-for-home-responsibilities-protection-cf411

Transferring entitlement to HRP
Sometimes the person who was in paid employment claimed Child Benefit, rather
than the person who was staying at home to care for the child. For tax years from
6 April 1978 to 5 April 2010, if the Child Benefit claimant already had a qualifying
year on their National Insurance account during the period of HRP, their spouse,
partner or civil partner can apply to have the HRP transferred to their own
National Insurance account