The reality of my fast approaching 66th birthday (Jan 24) is beginning to dawn on me…
I stopped working in 2019 (ish) and receive PIP & ESA…
As far as I can tell my State Pension is ok, but then I’ve two or three other, small pensions I’m wondering if they’re worth boosting from my savings…
I’m reluctant to consult a financial advisor as they generally want to sell me something I’m not sure I need…
Any pointers as to where I can find advice would be really useful…
For your state pension buying added years can be a good bet if you envisage living for a few years. Martin Lewis has done some programs on it and looking at those would be my starting point.
First thing to do would be to look at your contribution record. Some years may be cheaper than others to complete because you have already made contributions.
The other thing is to get a pension forecast.
If you worked and received a good pension you would probably have been contracted out and payed reduced National Insurance so your state pension is less.
I did buy back years but the process was complicated and awkward. They have extended the window of opportunity.
Increasing your pension may mean you pay tax and could impact some benefits but (until they change it) the pension is inflation proofed.
We need to be careful offering advice on here, as we’re not licensed IFA’s.
So rather than advising you, let me tell you about decisions I’ve made, as we have some similarities:
I’m 61, stopped working in 2020 apart from a couple of temporary jobs until 2022. I also receive PIP & ESA Support and don’t expect to need to draw down on my pension pot (or take out an annuity) before pension age because of the amount of savings & investments held should be more than adequate. I’ve estimated that I probably won’t live to 75, which is the age that one’s pension pot becomes part of one’s estate from a IHT perspective, and so affects what I leave to my beneficiaries. Consequently, after calculating what I can spare, I have elected to pay in the full £240/month from savings into my pension fund (which grosses up to £300/m, the maximum allowed without incurring tax for someone without earnings). If I live beyond 75, my residual pension pot is included in the estate value when calculating IHT, so I will have to move things around after that age - or earlier, in preparation.
To determine if you’ve paid in your full “stamp” for a full state pension, go to Check your NI record.
Hope that helps,
Graeme
Hello. I’ve not used them but I think Citizens Advice Bureau can help and there is also a service called Pension Wise - which gives advice and will not try to sell you anything ( it’s on the web)
Update:
I went to CAB in Bognor Regis and they were, at best, unhelpful…
I did manage to get the surley assistant to write down details for Pension Wise…
Side note: I’ve made a complaint about the “attitude” I’ve experienced in that branch…
In the end I had to take the chance of speaking to an Independent Financial Advisor, who trust as far as I could spit a rat…
I’ll let you know what happens next…
At 66, I’d first get a clear picture of what you already have before deciding whether putting additional savings into the smaller pensions makes sense. Your State Pension forecast and National Insurance record should help establish whether there are any gaps worth filling and what additional entitlement you would receive.
For the private pensions, I’d ask each provider for the current value, charges, projected income and available options. It is also worth checking how additional pension income could affect your ESA or other benefits before making any changes.
If you happen to have worked in Saudi Arabia as well, the End of Service Calculator(https://endofservicecalculator.site) is designed specifically to work out Saudi end-of-service benefits, so it can help with that separate part of your retirement planning.
For UK-specific guidance, MoneyHelper and Pension Wise are useful starting points before deciding whether you need regulated financial advice.
As others have said, the best starting point is to request a pension forecast, you can fill in a BR19 online to request it, or download & print the BR19 form & send it by post. It may say you can pay for gaps in your NI record, but be careful, it’s not always beneficial to do that. Once you’ve received your forecast, you can contact the Future Pension Centre helpline for advice freephone 0800 731 0175.
Personally, I recommend putting any questions in writing after receiving the forecast - the address is Freepost DWP Pensions Service 3