The State Pension - Do you know its worth?
When helping clients to plan for their future, it’s important to include all forms of income likely to used in retirement. Often, the State Pension is disregarded or forgotten. This could be as a result of those who were “contracted out” and so assumed they didn’t qualify, were not aware of when this applied or those who were under the impression it was so little it was not worth bothering about. Contrary to this, the State Pension can provide some valuable guaranteed income on which to build through careful planning.
That said, we were surprised to read that research from retirement specialist Just Group reveals that more than a third of retirees did not check their State Pension forecast before they retired despite 1.2 million households relying on the State Pension as their primary source of income in retirement. Of those surveyed;
• 38% of retirees didn’t check their State Pension forecast before retiring
• This rose to 46% among those who retired earlier than they expected to
• A fifth (17%) of retirees who checked their forecast found it more than £250 lower than expected
The survey of more than 1,000 retired and semi-retired people aged over 55 found that four in ten (38%) had not checked their forecast, rising to 40% among those who had not yet reached State Pension Age (55-64 year olds) and 46% for those who claimed to have retired earlier than they had expected.
Among the two-thirds of retirees who checked their forecasted State Pension income, nearly a fifth (17%) said that it was – at a minimum – £250 less per year than they were expecting. On the other hand, one-in-ten (9%) retirees said that it was at least £250 more per year than they were expecting. When people actually started to receive their State Pension, nine out of ten (90%) retirees said that what they received in reality was either the same as or more than the amount they were forecasted to receive.
The State Pension is the bedrock of retirement income for millions of retired households. It’s easy to see why people may assume they’ll simply get the full State Pension, but for many people this won’t be the case. It’s really important that all retirees have an idea of their forecasted benefits in order that they avoid the chance that their State Pension is less than they thought.
The Government offers a State Pension forecast service and we urge anyone approaching retirement to use it – ideally in advance of beginning to retire. It will tell you if you are likely to receive less State Pension than you thought and that will give you the opportunity to take steps to increase what you will actually receive.
There are a number of factors that affect the total value of an individual’s State Pension. People may be missing National Insurance credits because they were claiming benefits whilst they were ill, unemployed or for other such reasons. Going back to fill these gaps in your National Insurance record or buying extra credits can top up the State Pension you’re entitled to receive. For many, there is now a limit of 6 years in which you can backdate your contributions. However, if in advance of your retirement, there may be other ways in which you can boost these through voluntary contributions.
Getting an accurate, up to date picture of what income you can expect in retirement is an important first step in planning a secure financial retirement.
To request a State Pension forecast go to https://www.gov.uk/check-state-pension or contact the
Future Pension Centre on the helpline 0800 731 0175.
For information National Insurance credits go to https://www.gov.uk/national-insurance