UK State Pension - DWP's Questions

Does the extension help you or your wife, to gain an extra year or two? For years counting towards a state pension I mean, not just paying for gaps that won't count towards the New state pension.

Anyone with gaps in their National Insurance record from April 2006 onwards now has more time to decide whether to fill the gaps to boost their new State Pension. Any payments made will be at the lower 2022 to 2023 tax year rates.
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/taxpayers-given-more-time-for-voluntary-national-insurance-contributions

The gaps in our NI payments predate 2006 by quite a few years unfortunately.

The gaps in our NI payments predate 2006 by quite a few years unfortunately.

Back then, a full UK state pension needed 39 NI years for a woman and 44 NI years for a man (women retired at age 60 and men at age 65),

The current and previous 6 years has been overridden with one time gesture - there's a 10 year window available for you for missing contributions from April 2006 to April 2016 - not sure if that is relevant, but if you can make backpayments efore the deadline next month it really is a no-brainer - my wife paid back 6 years and got a full state pension.

Maybe I wasn’t clear but the years I and my wife are missing are well before 2006.  We signed up and paid as many back years as we could when we retired early in 2010 (at age 55) then paid voluntary contributions each year up until we started collecting in 2022 so we are fully paid up for those years 2006 to 2016 and the only reason we don’t have the maximum OAP is because they extended the years required from 30 to 35 just before we were able to collect so I have 30 years and she has 31 years. I thought I had timed it exactly right but there you go, a small fly in the ointment but no big deal.

I definitely screwed up in my 30’s when I had the chance to pay Class 2 contributions.

Believe you me, you weren't the only ones to screw up in your 30's - who thought about pensions when living on a beach drinking cocktails in the Caribbean  ? - I certainly didn't! - I was in my late 40's before the realisation of retirement hit home! 

Believe you me, you weren't the only ones to screw up in your 30's - who thought about pensions when living on a beach drinking cocktails in the Caribbean  ? - I certianly didn't! - I was in my late 40's before the realisation of retirement hit home! 

For sure!!

For sure!!

Do you mind me asking, how long did it take DWP to respond to you once you'd done the online application for UK state pension? I presume you get some sort of award letter, which the US will want to see so that they can WEP any US state pension.  The US aren't the quickest, so the sooner the can be informed the better.

Do you mind me asking, how long did it take DWP to respond to you once you'd done the online application for UK state pension? I presume you get some sort of award letter, which the US will want to see so that they can WEP any US state pension.  The US aren't the quickest, so the sooner the can be informed the better.

If I recall it all happened very timely and I did start receiving my UK OAP on time. I think I applied no longer than 4 to 6 weeks before it was due following a letter I had received from them telling me I was eligible and how much I would receive. It was the same with my wife who is 9 months younger than me.

If I recall it all happened very timely and I did start receiving my UK OAP on time. I think I applied no longer than 4 to 6 weeks before it was due following a letter I had received from them telling me I was eligible and how much I would receive. It was the same with my wife who is 9 months younger than me.

Thanks.  I still have a few months to go until my 66th birthday but, with the need to inform the US, I thought it best to respond fairly early.  My "invitation" to apply letter didn't specify how much I will receive (but I know that from my online forecast), so maybe we're talking about different letters.  Either way, my application's in - now we wait!

Thanks.  I still have a few months to go until my 66th birthday but, with the need to inform the US, I thought it best to respond fairly early.  My "invitation" to apply letter didn't specify how much I will receive (but I know that from my online forecast), so maybe we're talking about different letters.  Either way, my application's in - now we wait!

It was 3 years ago so I’m sure I have forgotten the details. They had stopped taking the monthly NI direct debits the April before (my birthday is in February) so I’m certain I will have known what to expect in terms of payments. You get paid every 4 weeks rather per calendar month so end up with 13 payments per year, the last payment coming after the end of  the tax year on April 5th. There is a letter before or just after the start of each tax year informing me of what the new weekly payment is going to be.

Do you mind me asking, how long did it take DWP to respond to you once you'd done the online application for UK state pension? I presume you get some sort of award letter, which the US will want to see so that they can WEP any US state pension.  The US aren't the quickest, so the sooner the can be informed the better.

I received the letter informing to apply a couple of weeks ago. Applied online with the reference supplied and received the approval letter with payment amounts less than a week later.

I received the letter informing to apply a couple of weeks ago. Applied online with the reference supplied and received the approval letter with payment amounts less than a week later.

That's good to hear.  Do you mind me asking how far you are from retirement?  My letter arrived a few weeks ago - about 4 months prior to retirement age - but I wanted to make a voluntary NI contribution first before claiming to get slightly more pension, and that was processed pretty quickly as well.

That's good to hear.  Do you mind me asking how far you are from retirement?  My letter arrived a few weeks ago - about 4 months prior to retirement age - but I wanted to make a voluntary NI contribution first before claiming to get slightly more pension, and that was processed pretty quickly as well.

Not at all, end of September is when I hit it.

I will not apply for US SSA retirement benefits till age 70.

I will not apply for US SSA retirement benefits till age 70.

Same here, 18 months to go.  As well "life insurance" for my wife I'm still paying into SS through some W2 income I receive and as well as increasing SS through adding more years it is also reducing the WEP effect by about $600/year.  By age 70 I should have about 28 years of contributions.

Same here, 18 months to go.  As well "life insurance" for my wife I'm still paying into SS through some W2 income I receive and as well as increasing SS through adding more years it is also reducing the WEP effect by about $600/year.  By age 70 I should have about 28 years of contributions.

Well done.

I may be wrong but I believe and SS payments received after claiming will still be taken into account fir WEP purposes so you should eventually clear the 30 year ceiling

Well done.

I may be wrong but I believe and SS payments received after claiming will still be taken into account fir WEP purposes so you should eventually clear the 30 year ceiling

That is my hope also.