Frequently asked questions
- Important information about National Insurance arrears
- What is additional State Pension?
- What do you mean by ‘contracted out’?
- I have never been contracted out, so why is there a contracted out deduction on my forecast?
- What is Home Responsibilities Protection?
- What State Pension is my spouse or civil partner entitled to?
- I have paid reduced rate National Insurance contributions. Do these count towards my State Pension?
- Why am I paying the reduced rate of National Insurance contributions?
- I was at university until I was 22. Do I get credits towards my State Pension for these years?
- Have you taken into account any contributions I paid while I was working abroad?
- Can I stop paying National Insurance once I have enough qualifying years to get a full basic State Pension?
- What effect will the plans to increase the basic State Pension in line with national average earnings have on my pension?
Important information about National Insurance arrears
If your online State Pension forecast contains information about arrears of National Insurance contributions, there may be an error in the information in your forecast notice.
If you have more than six years of gaps in your National Insurance records, the forecast notice you received will read "...out of the last 6 tax years." This section should read "...out of the last 12 tax years".
We are currently working to fix this problem
What is additional State Pension?
Additional State Pension is an earnings related pension on top of the basic State Pension. It was originally called the State Earnings Related Pension Scheme (SERPS), and was replaced by the State Second Pension in 2002.
More about SERPS and the State Second Pension
What do you mean by ‘contracted out’?
‘Contracting out’ means that you have joined a company, stakeholder or personal pension scheme that can be used to replace all, or part, of the additional State Pension (SERPS or State Second Pension). Because of this you paid a lower rate of National Insurance.
I have never been contracted out, so why is there a contracted out deduction on my forecast?
If we are taking a contracted out deduction from you, your National Insurance record shows that you have been contracted out at some time before 6 April 1997.
You can get details of your contracted out employment by contacting HM Revenue and Customs.
HM Revenue and Customs website
What is Home Responsibilities Protection?
Home Responsibilities Protection helps to protect your pension by reducing the number of qualifying years needed for a basic State Pension.
You may get Home Responsibilities Protection if you spend time caring for a child or a sick or disabled person and receive certain benefits.
More about Home Responsibilities Protection
What State Pension is my spouse or civil partner entitled to?
If your spouse or civil partner has not reached State Pension age, they should apply for a State Pension forecast in their own right. If they have already reached State Pension age and do not receive their State Pension they should contact The Pension Service
I have paid reduced rate National Insurance contributions. Do these count towards my State Pension?
No. Any reduced rate National Insurance contributions you have paid do not count towards your State Pension.
Why am I paying the reduced rate of National Insurance contributions?
In the past, married women and some widows could choose to pay a reduced rate of National Insurance contributions as an employee, or choose not to pay Class 2 National Insurance contributions when self-employed. This was called the Married Women’s or Widow's Election.
Although this stopped in 1977, women who were already paying the reduced rate could continue to do so.
Reduced rate contributions do not count towards the State Pension, and you cannot get Home Responsibilities Protection for any period covered by a Married Women’s or Widow's Election.
You will stop paying reduced rates if:
- You get divorced or your marriage is annulled (officially cancelled)
- For two tax years in a row, you have:
- Not earned enough to pay, or been treated as paying, National Insurance contributions as an employee; and
- Not been self-employed
- You stop being entitled to certain bereavement benefits
- You ask to stop paying the reduced rate
If you want advice about a Married Women’s or Widow's Election, contact HM Revenue and Customs.
HM Revenue and Customs website
I was at university until I was 22. Do I get credits towards my State Pension for these years?
You will not receive credits for any periods spent at university. However you will receive credits automatically for the tax years during which you had your sixteenth, seventeenth and eighteenth birthdays if these fell on or after 6 April 1975 and you were in full time education, unpaid apprenticeship or training.
Have you taken into account any contributions I paid while I was working abroad?
Your pension forecast does not take into account any social security contributions you may have paid while working abroad. However, if you paid social security contributions while working in another European Economic Area or a country with which the United Kingdom has a reciprocal social security agreement, we will consider this when you make your claim for your State Pension. For more information contact the International Pension Centre.
Contact the International Pension Centre
Can I stop paying National Insurance once I have enough qualifying years to get a full basic State Pension?
If you’re working for an employer and your wages are above a certain level, you have to pay National Insurance until you reach State Pension age. If you are self-employed, you must continue to pay Class 2 National Insurance contributions until State Pension age, except for any tax year for which you have a small-earnings exemption certificate.
If you are paying voluntary National Insurance contributions for any period when you are not working, you can decide to stop paying the contributions.
However, you will need to have qualifying years for about 90 per cent of the years in your working life to give your widow, widower or surviving civil partner full rate bereavement benefit.
What effect will the plans to increase the basic State Pension in line with national average earnings have on my pension?
Your pension forecast shows how much State Pension you may get based on your National Insurance record so far, and your estimated National Insurance record when you reach your State Pension age.
Your State Pension can be made up of basic State Pension, additional State Pension or both. The amounts of State Pension shown on your forecast are based on the current rates.
Basic State Pension
Each year, the amount of the basic State Pension is increased to protect
its value. At the moment, the basic State Pension rises by the same rate
as the increase in average prices (also known as ‘inflation’).
In the Pensions Act 2007, the Government changed the law so that in the future, the basic State Pension will rise in line with average earnings instead of average prices. The date this will start is still to be decided, but we expect it to happen from 2012. Over the long term, average earnings have tended to rise faster than average prices.
Additional State Pension
Until you reach State Pension age, additional State Pension will be re-valued
each year in line with average earnings. Once you have retired, and your
pension is paid, that part of your State Pension will then rise in line
with the increase in average prices.
By the time you reach State Pension age, the amount of State Pension you receive could be different from the amounts shown in your forecast. This is because of the changes to the law expected from 2012, and changes in the level of average prices and average earnings over time.