Mike at Taree

Next year I turn 65 and according to the UK gov site, according to new rules that came in over the last few years, I'm entitled to 1/33 of the UK age pension for every year of National Insurance contributions I made. I'll be eligible for a full Aussie pension of course as I've been here and naturalised for decades.

However I did accrue around seven or eight years of "stamps" from 1968 to 1977 before migrating and I suppose I should GMA into gear and make some enquiries. Possibly Centrelink may even demand that I apply, haven't heard from them yet.

Anybody gone through this exercise? Pommie mate of the family said she was under the impression that I could actually pay the balance of the stamps to take me up to 33 years and this would be charged at the rates of that time? Or is that not possible.

Emailed the Dept in Newcastle, Longbenton, but not heard anything back for a couple of months.

Edit: I do realise that the UK age pension is pretty crap compared to here as well as "frozen" and that Centrelink would no doubt take a chop over a certain amount, but worth pursuing maybe.

quoll

You can ask for the period of residence from your arrival in Aus up to the date of the agreement ceasing (2002?) to be taken not account and you can back pay 5 or 6 yrs iirc from Aus by a bank debit.

Mike at Taree

Wow sounds tempting - I do now see that there's a Centrelink phone number for advice about claiming overseas pensions.

So what you are saying is that I'd only need to pay five or six years of contributions, not twenty-odd?

Amazulu

You will only get a pension for the years that you have paid NI. So 6 years of payments will get 6 years of extra pension

KJCherokee

I started work in 1964 (apprenticeship) and worked fulltime in the UK (apart from a volunteer stint and a year at college on a county grant) until the end of 1982, so presumably I am entitled to about 16.5/33 of the pension. Problem is I have no idea what my National Insurance number was (is), so how do I go about claiming it?

NickyC

My OH claimed his UK pension earlier this year. He'd worked in the UK for only 5 years (1963-1968) and now receives around $125 a month. Not a lot but it keeps us in wine. The amount varies slightly each month depending on the exchange rate. Claiming it was painless.

If you're also expecting to get a Centrelink aged pension you will HAVE to claim any UK pension you're entitled to (Centrelink aren't daft. They're not going to pay you money when they can get someone else to cough up some of it ;-) ).

As far as getting hold of your NI number goes, try here:
https://www.gov.uk/lost-national-insurance-number

annier

I worked for 6 years & get 18 pence per week paid yearly, it doesn't even buy me a bottle of Bacardi, good luck hope you get more, ha ha

lesleys

Here are some useful links

http://www.britishpensions.org.au/information.htm

https://www.gov.uk/browse/working/state-pension

Once you have your NI number then the first step is to get a pension forecast and get yourself on the UK records with current contact details.

Wol

I have no idea about your circumstances and may be teaching grandmother to suck eggs, but Mrs Wol got 18p a week too. Then, about five years ago when we were visiting the UK the DWP phoned us to check that we were there and in conversation we were told Mrs Wol was entitled to a pension on *my* account. (Something I wasn't aware of). So now she gets a frozen £210 per month: several bottles of Bacardi <g>.

Mike at Taree

Wow many thanks guys, will follow up - bacardis may yet flow and not just for me

OzTennis

As touched on there was a reciprocal agreement between UK and Australian governments. Years spent in Australia and paying tax to ATO actually boosts the amount of UK pension a person is entitled to. You just have to provide dates, tax file number etc. Mrs OzT got credit for 9 years in Australia.

Of course, very contentious issue. Those who reside abroad will have their pension frozen from day 1 if they live in certain countries, Australia and Canada included. Thus, if you get £x per fortnight it remains at that figure for evermore.

You get the ridiculous situation where for example, British soldiers who fought Hitler get a frozen pension if they retire to Australia; index-linked pension if they retire to Germany!!

annier

Thanks for the info Wol, will look into it , you never know I might be able to buy a Bacardi after all .

Petals

If for some reason a disability pension due to work injury in UK is granted then that pension gets indexed in Aus as well. My oh had one. I do not know how its going to affect me now that he has passed but will find out soon no doubt. I think I get a reduced amount also get a bit more on the aged pension from UK, I know my mum did when my Dad died.

Mike at Taree

Enquiries made so far reveal:

Old Rules, you basically had to have been working in the UK all your working life to claim the full pension and I believe if you got a part pension it was paid at the rate at when you stopped working there, hence the amounts such as 18 pence a week.

New Rules, for every year you worked and accrued "stamps" you are entitled to 1/30 of the full pension, so even if worked only 5 years you would still get a sixth pension.

New New Rules they are thinking of setting a minimum of 10 years work to get a part pension, but you can make voluntary contributions to top up your "stamps" - I'm trying to find out if you can top all the way up, and whether this is charged at the same rate as those missing years. That would be handy as probably not too savage in pounds of those days. (80s and 90s).

So anyone getting a UK part pension might want to consider making some enquiries as well to see if they are in the old scheme or can switch to the new scheme.


Edit: even a third pension is about fifty bucks a week, which would be a Bacardi, until inflation wears it down to a stubby of Tooheys New eventually. lol.
Will continue to post re progress.

paddyo

I worked in UK paying NI from 1979-2008 (29 yrs) and got a decent pension forecast. Here is the response:
You already have enough qualifying years for the full basic State Pension of £110.15 a week.
Your State Pension age is 66 years
You’ll reach State Pension age on 8 May 2028
I also have a War Pension (minor injury 135 pounds per month) and an Armed Forces Pension which started in 2003 and is index linked until I am 55 where it then goes to its full sum (dunno, probably 2000 pounds a month). It all helps plus my Super from here as well.
My wife worked less years than me but has been topping up her NI since 2008 at a rate of 15 pounds a month to keep within a decent quota amount.