UK pension NI contributions & SERPS help needed please

[Scottish Mernymph 514]

Hi lovely VeeJay peeps, I'm needing some help in the crazy minefield that is my pension.....back when I was a youngster I was contracted out of SERPS to the Co-op I have no idea what happened with that or how to find out or how it's going to effect/has effected things....also last year I didn't earn enough(I'm on a low income plus I was unable to work for 6 months due to cancer treatments) to have to pay any NI contributions, however, I can choose to pay a coupla hundred quid to 'protect' my pension credits.......is it advisable to do so? I don't know that I'll really qualify for much of a pension, I'm hoping to be emmigrating within the year, & that whole contracted out of SERPS from the age of 18 thing too....it's all a mess.....can anyone advise me where I should go for information & assistance with this please?
Many thanks

[Wuozopo 4,293]

I don't pretend to understand UK pensions but I don't think it affects your state pension. I was also contracted out of SERPS to the co-op. I will still collect my full state pension because I had in 30 years before I left the U.K.  If you don't have enough years of NI, you can pay in a minimum amount yearly even after emigrating or take a state pension reduction based on the number of years paid in.

 

This has been discussed in the forum every now and then in detail. Some of the 20-something yr olds discuss paying in voluntary NI contributions so they don't lose what they have already paid in, which frankly is peanuts. They will do better to collect US Social Security if they will have decades of a good career in the US. You can't collect both. Depending on your age, you might be closer to reaching full state pension and getting in a few more credits would be useful. 

 

See https://www.gov.uk/state-pension/eligibility

That page also has links to 

--getting National Insurance Credits, for example for unemployment, sickness or as a parent or carer

--paying voluntary National Insurance contributions

 

 

Edited July 30, 2018 by Wuozopo

[Scottish Mernymph 514]

Much appreciated Wuozopo many thanks

[Wuozopo 4,293]

28 minutes ago, Scottish Mernymph said:

Much appreciated Wuozopo many thanks

To clarify, you can collect Social Security and state pension, but Social Security will reduce your payments by the amount collected from state pension. Private pensions have no effect. Being mostly retired in the US, my Social Security will probably be minimal if I get in the required 40 quarters because it's based on earnings. I'm not earning a huge amount.  The UK state pension is such that everybody gets the same basic amount whether a high wage earner or a low wage earner. If you get a full time, high salary job in the US, you could accrue some Social Security left over after the payout is reduced by state pension. I can't completely get my head around all this, but that's the basics as I understand them.