Join for free
Page 1 of 3 1 2 3 >
stevmk2's Avatar
stevmk2
Senior Member
stevmk2 is offline
Milton Keynes
Joined: Oct 2010
Posts: 3,324
stevmk2 is male  stevmk2 has posted at least 25 times and has been a member for 3 months or more 
 
14-08-2014, 07:56 PM
1

State Pension Changes

5 weeks ago I tried to get a more up-to-date State Pension Forecast but found I had to do it manually and submit it - and wait.

I waited 3 weeks and this morning i got a letter back telling me that they cannot give me a forecast.

On this "letter" it says 'Until further information is available we will be unable to produce written statements

A short while ago I was being urged to check-out all my options, (none actually), to see if I was 'on-course' with my projected Retirement Income.

Fat chance of that with 6 redundancies behind me, working part-time now and I can't afford any other Pensions, so this is yet another swift kick in the teeth from this more-or-less Conservative Government is it not?

My last Pension Forecast was a year ago in April and I was quoted then as being on course for £668 PA with my retirement date being September 2016.

That date remains but the B******s will not even tell me if I will now get more or less than that previous figure - tell a lie, they actually say £148.40 PW minimum but what they will not tell me is that going by 2013 figures, that's £25 light yet I'm still chipping-in on the NI payments so it should be still going up should it not?

OK.
I realise that I perhaps am expecting too much but my point is that I was urged to try to help myself, which I just cannot do on my income so I'm trying in my own way to work out what sort of a life my wife and I can expect.

I've been struggling lately, really struggling and I'm trying not to go down the dark ladder, as Joni Mitchell put it.

Anyone else at this sort of level - getting anxious - worrying themselves silly - pulling your hair out in exasperation?

For two pins I'd sell the bloody house, take my wife and our meagre savings off to some warm, idyllic island, (within the EU area of course!) and live an extremely short but thoroughly enjoyable remainder of our lives having a bloody good laugh - in the sun!

Yeah!

The job's shite too lately...........stevmk2
Older git
Chatterbox
Older git is offline
South Lincs
Joined: Jul 2014
Posts: 5,371
Older git is male  Older git has posted at least 25 times and has been a member for 3 months or more 
 
14-08-2014, 08:32 PM
2

Re: State Pension Changes

Can I ask -did you continue to pay voluntary contributions? I did when I gave up work aged 38 and totally failed to make anything like a living but I still paid into the `pot`. You have me worried cos I thought I would cop for a full od age pension when I`m 65
Lindyloo's Avatar
Lindyloo
Senior Member
Lindyloo is offline
isle of wight
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 2,350
Lindyloo is female  Lindyloo has posted at least 25 times and has been a member for 3 months or more 
 
15-08-2014, 08:05 AM
3

Re: State Pension Changes

Steve - my pension has been delayed until March 2017 - or £25,000! - but I should be getting the full state pension at the single tier rate which will be at least £148.40 per week with reviews every 5 years. There's more information about it on:
http://www.ageuk.org.uk/money-matter...-mean-for-you/
stevmk2's Avatar
stevmk2
Senior Member
stevmk2 is offline
Milton Keynes
Joined: Oct 2010
Posts: 3,324
stevmk2 is male  stevmk2 has posted at least 25 times and has been a member for 3 months or more 
 
15-08-2014, 03:16 PM
4

Re: State Pension Changes

Right!

Here's my latest 'Gen'

According to some bod I got in touch with yesterday, the magic number is £213.72.

That is the figure your National Insurance qualified years should be multiplied by, and this is from a site that seems very close to what's actually going on.

My qualifying years, according to the DWP are at present 41; 6 years more than the new Flat-Rate State Pension actually demands.

For me that means 41 x £213.72 = £168.51 per week State Pension under the new rules.

The drawback, (there's always one!), concerns Serps / SP2 and the Graduated Contributions element of what we've all earned to a certain extent.

If you opted-out at any time you will be penalised for those opted-out years - for me it's about 7 years BUT, I already have accrued 41 NI Contributory Years for the State Pension, which is separate from Serps / SP2!

Just to really muddy the waters, experts reckon that the £213.72 figure is NOT including the inflation element so this is all up in the air and therefore we may all get more!

The good thing for me is that it gives me a figure to work to and may well be of use to others. stevmk2
Jazzi's Avatar
Jazzi
Chatterbox
Jazzi is offline
Lowestoft
Joined: Feb 2013
Posts: 21,051
Jazzi is female  Jazzi has posted at least 25 times and has been a member for 3 months or more 
 
15-08-2014, 06:26 PM
5

Re: State Pension Changes

I got a pension forecast a year or so ago and because I'd opted out of the State Second Pension it was reduced. (This was for a private pension I think, or for my occupational one. Who knows?)

They gave me a figure which is the one I'm using to add on to all my other incomings, then I took the 20% tax off, and the figure left should, hopefully, be enough to cover everything, and leave savings intact. Unless I want more holidays etc.

I've got way more than the qualifying contribution of NI too.
spitfire
Chatterbox
spitfire is offline
Warwickshire
Joined: Jul 2012
Posts: 29,878
spitfire is male  spitfire has posted at least 25 times and has been a member for 3 months or more 
 
16-08-2014, 08:18 AM
6

Re: State Pension Changes

The only folk to come out well from all these financial plans are the advisors, they are well "Endowed".
stevmk2's Avatar
stevmk2
Senior Member
stevmk2 is offline
Milton Keynes
Joined: Oct 2010
Posts: 3,324
stevmk2 is male  stevmk2 has posted at least 25 times and has been a member for 3 months or more 
 
16-08-2014, 09:19 AM
7

Re: State Pension Changes

Originally Posted by spitfire ->
The only folk to come out well from all these financial plans are the advisors, they are well "Endowed".
As per usual it seems when you get Conservatives in government spitfire.

I notice that the Conservatives are now saying they are drawing-up plans to increase the personal Tax Limit to £12,500 as part of their carrot-and-stick 2015 General Election pledge.

I've yet to see anything in response from any other party so far but I've not looked yet!

I suspect that, as usual, this pledge will be already covered in some kind of sneaky increase elsewhere if the Conservatives were to get in power again.

I've gone through some other info someone sent me last night and it seems like my own State Pension figures are about right, without taking any inflationary increases into account; about £168 per week at this moment.

It also looks as if State Pension increases will be 'reigned-in' though so it's difficult to work out exactly how long the promised flat-rate State Pension minimum of £148.40, (before any inflationary element is factored in), will actually keep us plebs happy - not long I suspect when the Energy free-for-all starts up again. stevmk2
Barry's Avatar
Barry
Chatterbox
Barry is offline
North Notts
Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 15,676
Barry is male  Barry has posted at least 25 times and has been a member for 3 months or more 
 
16-08-2014, 09:48 AM
8

Re: State Pension Changes

It never fails to amaze me how just about every ill can be blamed on the conservatives. The complete and utter financial ineptitude and profligacy of the last Labour administration led us to the edge of bankruptcy and now we all have to pay the price to an extent. We can no longer have everything we want like spoilt children, we have to start living within our means.

I won't pretend that everything in the garden is rosy but at least we are heading the right direction. People have short memories but I seem to recall there were around 300 indirect (sneaky) tax increases in thirteen years under Labour, and just remind me again which friend of the working man abolished the 10p tax rate?

As a nation we need to start looking more to ourselves to finance our own futures now that we are all living longer, we cannot expect that burden to rest entirely with our children and we need to stop being so selfish with all the me me me and try to take account of the bigger picture particularly to income in retirement.

The thought of Miliband and Balls with any sort of power terrifies me, as it should everyone with any financial nous. If you think it's bad now......
Grumblewagon's Avatar
Grumblewagon
Senior Member
Grumblewagon is offline
Aberdeenshire
Joined: Aug 2012
Posts: 2,625
Grumblewagon is male  Grumblewagon has posted at least 25 times and has been a member for 3 months or more 
 
16-08-2014, 11:31 AM
9

Re: State Pension Changes

I should reach state pension age next year, so I'll just get the basic state pension as it is today (+ any rises). Mrs.G has been well and truly dumped in the cr@p by the present government, but should get a pro-rate of the new pension.

These however, are both far less than our occupational pensions, and without them, it would mean a lot of belt tightening.

You are absolutely quite right when you say that we must take more responsibility for our own futures. The state pension might provide some sort of safety net, but we will have to finance the bulk of our chosen lifestyle from savings and investments.
Older git
Chatterbox
Older git is offline
South Lincs
Joined: Jul 2014
Posts: 5,371
Older git is male  Older git has posted at least 25 times and has been a member for 3 months or more 
 
16-08-2014, 03:12 PM
10

Re: State Pension Changes

My only grumble is interest rates on savings-next to buggar all. OK I have a few shillings in shares and unit trusts but they are fairly high risk.
 
Page 1 of 3 1 2 3 >

Thread Tools


© Copyright 2009, Over50sForum   Contact Us | Over 50s Forum! | Archive | Privacy Statement | Terms of Use | Top

Powered by vBulletin Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.