Until recently women would receive their state pension at 60, but now many must work till 66 or older.
It’s not great to know you will get 40k of state pension less than you expected. Many women had planned to leave their job at 60 or perhaps a few years older, especially if they could receive their occupational pension, BUT most do not realise that you still need to contribute to your state pension.
If you don’t continue to make these payments you will not get your full state pension.
It is easy to check your pension entitlement via the Government Gateway. If you have already registered you will find out immediately, if not you need to register.
When I log in it tells me that I can get my State Pension on my 66th birthday.
Your forecast is
164.35 a week
714.63 a month, 8,575.55 a year
And here’s the bit most people are unaware of
Estimate based on your National Insurance record up to 5 April 2018: 144.53 a week
You need to continue to contribute National Insurance to reach your forecast.
Even though I already have made full contributions for 45 years I will be £20 p.w. short unless I carry on contributing till my 66th birthday.
If you decide to retire before your state pension age you can still get credits you may get them via another job, credits due to illness or caring, you can pay a class 3 stamp if you become self-employed or make a voluntary contribution of around £14 p.w.
You may also like to read the companion article on state pension benefits, please note that the financial data related to the previous tax year and there has been increases. Here’s the link:
Were you aware of this? If not feel free to share
Brought to you by Denise Taylor, Chief Inspiration Officer with www.the50pluscoach.co.uk