UK state pension

[Gastines]

Having had the pleasure of receiving the UK pension,after 3 years of letter writing for forecasts,about mistakes etc etc, I must say it's nice to get something back each month.The added advantage is that it is paid at a good exchange rate into my French bank, so saving me transferring money from UK bank with all the associated charges.

When receiving your computer generated forecast which lists all payments since you left school, don't take everything as read. I eventually had three computer readouts,all different,one with 6 errors. When quering which one was correct???? I was advised to keep the last one and throw the others away!!! Having been told that 2 years were paid late,by bank standing order, I was told they don't count. In that case can I have them back? No, they go into the pot!! Unfortunately the bank records can't help with why they were paid LATE in 1982 so I couldn't argue the point.

However I did get the E121, after 5 e-mails 3 phone calls and wondering what they do at the other end.

Regards.

[dolly daydream]

Cooperola, that was said before the act was passed.  The letter I received was headed 'Refund of Voluntary Class 2 or Class 3 NI Contributions".  It also stated that "we will accept you are entitled to a refund if you satisfy the following conditions"  So you might be correct in certain cases.  I didnt bother applying as I have only just made the 30 year rule.  If anyone wants to know the conditions I will post the quoted letter in full along with reasons why it may not be prudent to ask for a refund (like my own case).

[cooperlola]

Thanks for that DD.  I haven't heard anything from them since then.  Where's my letter then?...[:)]

[Panda]

[quote user="Panda "]Does anyone know what the qualification for french state pension is in years?  I know that many on here have said they won't get anything despite paying  into the system for a number of years but am interested to know the facts.[/quote]

My question got lost as other answers about the UK pension came in, does anyone know the answer to this one?  Surely someone who's been working here for a few years knows if they are puying toward something or not?

[Polremy]

I have today received a cheque from them for the overpayments made between 25th May when the rule changed and the date in September when they informed me the rule had changed! I just wonder how many people are entitled to this refund and dont realise it.

[chessfou]

[quote]Does anyone know what the qualification for french state pension is in years? [Panda][/quote]

You can find all (or more than) you want here:

http://vosdroits.service-public.fr/particuliers/N16.xhtml?

Basic answer: 0 years 3 months but you won't get a whole lot for that:

http://tinyurl.com/3dz83k

For a salarié* to retire on a full pension (50% of average annual salary) then 160 trimestres (i.e. 40 years) are needed and retirement can be taken 60-65. Lots more detail here: http://tinyurl.com/2x5axg

*Don't forget there are loads of other categories, some of which have the dreaded/valuable "régime spéciale."

[dolly daydream]

Cooperola, it worked like this.  I knew I had 30 years in so I rang and asked if they would write to me to tell me I could stop paying.  Young man said 'if you are sure you have 30 years' (yes I had just rec'd my forecast) 'just stop your direct debit and they will soon write to you'.  That is what I did.  If you are not sure about your years in, give them a ring on the number I gave earlier, they will now take your forecast details over the phone BUT NOT ON COMPUTER.

[cooperlola]

Thanks, DD.  I'll follow this up.[:)]

[freddy]

[quote user="Benjamin"][quote user="chessfou"]The minimum currently (at least for women - I am going on the letter my wife received recently from DWP) is 27% of UK state pension for 9 years contributions (and approx 3%/yr contrib thereafter).

30 years contributions qualify for 100% state pension (I think that was passed into law this summer).

NB: state pension is INDEX-LINKED with a current value of 100% pension (i.e. cost of buying a similar annuity) approx £140,000.

Will it ever be neans tested? Who knows but it does represent tremendous value, especially for all those who may have much of their pension in flat rate form (with average life expectancy low inflation should get close to halving the value of such pensions), so a bit of free index-linking is a real bonus.
[/quote]

A current annuity rate for a 60 year old female is £ 6,333 for £ 100,000 of fund giving an annual income of £ 8,866 based upon £ 140,000.

Surely the standard rate for a female pensioner is never that much?



[/quote]

You are not comparing apples with apples here - the figure you quote is for a level pension - wheras the state penion rises over time - so the figure for an RPI linked pension is a better comparator, for a 60 year old female this is about 3800 per 100K invested so 140K would get you 5300 which sounds about right.

[Benjamin]

Thanks for that freddy although chessfou did make exactly that same point a few pages back.

The only problem with that comparison is that only about 5% of people purchasing annuities to fund their future pensions actually take an escalating one so whatever you do on this one you'll always be comparing pomegranates and nectarines.