meinkl

Another spanner in the works... if married to a non EU wife let's look at possible scenarios upon death of Brit pensioner:
A) if outside UK then does spouse continue to receive pension?
B) if in UK and, lets say, 4 years into the 5 year wait for final residency, does she receive pension.
C) if in UK and after PR obtained, does she receive pension
she obviously doesn't receive any pension of her own as never contributed.

Editha

Deferring is an even better deal for women because those of us getting the old style pension also have a pension age before 65. I reached pensionable age at 62.5 years, so I'm deferring until I'm 65. A thirty month deferral will mean I reach payback time within a 7 years, by which time I'll only be 72.

Editha

The UK state pension does not include widow's benefits. So, no she doesn't.

meinkl

Thanks, is that the case for all widow(er)s ? The survivor has only their own NI based pension to survive upon. What happens if a married Brit couple have a husband that has full pension and a wife who has never worked and thus no NI record? Is she left with no pension? Quite likely if wife is substancially younger.

So that means i have to rely on a private scheme fund to pay up upon death to provide income/investment.

Editha

No, there is no widow's pension at all nowadays. The only exception is for the 3A contributions or 'pension top-up'. There has been some discussion of it on this thread, but I don't think you are eligible anyway. The priority for you should be getting as high a state pension as possible for yourself.

For your wife, if you consider buying a private pension for her, bear in mind that you may not be able to afford an income for her which will take her above the threshold for means tested benefits, in which case you might as well not bother.

rebs

Under the current system (ie the system that will expire April 2016) spouses can claim a partial pension based on their spouses NI contributions.

This is one of the things that is changing in the new system (starting April 2016) - from then, a pension will only be awarded based on an individual's contributions.

I have seen some articles around which suggest that there may be some kind of temporary, interim arrangements for women that might fall foul of this change - ie those that perhaps have never worked. Having said that, I do not really know the ins and outs of those interim provisions or whether they would apply in your specific circumstances - you might need to dig around to find the details.

meinkl

Wow.. thats a bit harsh on all widows!. Shows how out of touch i am with UK these days.
In my case, my nonEUwife would get
- nothing if overseas
- nothing if in UK and still awaiting final PR during the 5 year wait - as unable to claim means tested benefits as condition of visa application, and likely get thrown out as well.
- even after PR i doubt she would be able to claim judging by rest of the conditions.

Still waiting for the statement from pensions office re my NI status. Dont expect that to be good news either. :-(

scot47

As is often the case people are under the misapprehension that the system is still as it was in the 1950s and 1960s. Accurate and up-to-date information is worth getting. Arm yourself with facts . I have found the Age Concern helpline very useful.

meinkl

The parial pension aspect was what i remembered the case to be, but yet again I was born 10 days too late for those benefits!!
It doesnt seem to matter how hard one tried over ones working life to make provision for old age, it seems the UK gov. is hell bent on penalising their own subjects both home and abroad, whether it be pensions or spouse visas.

meinkl

This has made me realise my true vocation... get back to UK and get into politics... now... where did i put that roast piglet?

Reading the AgeUK report about where is the best place to grow old I note that neither Malaysia nor Singapore even warrant inclusion in their list. That worries me as much as the fact that Iceland beats UK and Albania is middle of the list!
http://www.ageinternational.org.uk/D...15_HelpAge.pdf

rebs

Didn't you say you were 60? As a man, you wouldn't have been able to claim your state pension until 65 anyway, so your date of birth would be no where near the cut off dates?

meinkl

i was born 17 April 1955 , which puts me 10 days too young to get old type pension based on 30 years.. I need 35 years now and wont get pension till 66 in 2021... acording to the great computer in the sky above UK.gov.

rebs

No - the cut of date of birth for men to be in the old style pension is April 1951. You are 4 years too young, not just 10 days!

It doesn't change your situation, but you might not feel so aggrieved at missing it by 10 days

meinkl

Thanks.. having done some more tests with the all knowing UKgov website I now realise that I am, in fact, 4 years too young... try telling my doctor that though!!
It makes me feel a whole lot better.
But i still want to know how to pay for the missing 5 years or more so as to get a decent percentage of the full pension.
28/30ths of £151.25 is a lot more than 28/35ths of £151.25

not2old

OP, maybe there is something in the following for you?

https://www.moneyadviceservice.org.u...state-pensions

https://www.moneyadviceservice.org.u...artners-record

https://www.moneyadviceservice.org.u...nges-explained

.