nun

I got a nice surprise too. My forecast gave me 3 credits for the years I was in sixth form college.

Mummy in the foothills

I can only hope and keep my fingers crossed then I have some years in college, summer jobs, nursing school and then proper jobs. So we'll see.

Giantaxe

You can use the US years to help you qualify for a UK pension if you don't otherwise do so. However, those US years will not increase the size of your UK pension. So, on retirement, you will receive a UK pension based on your UK record and a US pension based on your US record. A caveat to the latter is that if you're married, you will receive either ss based on your own record or 50% of the ss based on your spouse's ss record. Assuming one or other of you has had a full time job in the time you've been in the US, you'll likely get ss well in excess of $4 a month.

Giantaxe

I noticed that a month-long summer job whilst I was in high school gave me a year's credit so you may well be in luck.

scot47

If you had high earnings it is quite possible that a month's salary would produce enough to qualify for that year. Depends on what LEL was for that Tax Year. (Lower Earnings Leval - ie minimum when you become liable for ERNICs)

And do not forget to have DWP check out any periods when you were working in a Sate with reciporacl NI Agreement. Some surprising countries in that list - including Yugoslavia !

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Insurance

Perth

I have already received my pension statement and I have paid 7 years. This email was actually in response to my asking how I could pay any shortfall. So once you do get yours use the contact information above to find out about extra payments. I was pleasantly surprised to see as much as 7 years. for you that you are equally pleased!

Perth

I have already determined that 50% of my husband's SS will be more than my 100%. And just found a nifty calculator that shows the penalty you would incur if you took it early. At age 62, it drops to 35% and increases in yearly increments thereafter.

dunroving

When you say 35%, do you mean for you (where "full" is 50%)? If so, that would make sense because I did a similar thing and taking it early reduced it to (I think) 72% - but a drop from 100% to 35% would make you want to hang in there until 66!!

Also, when you say "and increases in yearly increments thereafter", you are referring to if you retired at 62, 63, 64, etc.? You don't mean if you retire at 62, it will then go up on your 63rd birthday, do you?

Wording is everything in the complex business of finance!! Easy to get confused.

jemima55

How amazing!
After worrying while we were abroad I asked for a statement. Turns out I am fully paid up as long as they don't shift the goalposts again.
I did a lot of summer jobs as a student and didn't realise I was getting any credit for those.
I am interested in seeing a breakdown of how I achieved this, but don't like to query, or look a gift horse in the mouth!

dunroving

The lower earnings limit to pay NIC is quite low (currently around £5,000). I don't know if it was comparatively lower back then but you can see how a summer job might add up to over that much.

Of course as rules change with every government, who knows what may have qualified you back then?

Being on unemployment benefit also earns you NI credits so even signing on the dole for the summer back then might have ticked the right box.

It's a mystery to all but the anointed few.

jemima55

Yup, my entitlement is a big mystery. Some student years, some working years and a few "bringing up children" years. I also signed on if the holiday was too short to get a job. Anyway, it's all added up. Shows you should get the facts rather than lie awake worrying!

robin1234

That is a good question. Common sense would indicate that, if one retired at 62, or 63, or 64 etc., and immediately took US SS at those ages, the amount you would get in SS would rise nicely in each of those options for two reasons; (1) you have an additional year of contributions (or a higher earnings year that bumps a lower year, say when you worked as a student or very low paying job as a youngster.) and (2) because you will be taking the benefit for fewer years.

If, however, you retire at 62 (as my wife and I have/ are about to) but defer taking SS until age 63, or 64 etc., the amount you would get in SS should still rise for each year of deferral, but by a lesser amount. (1) would not apply but (2) still would.

dunroving

Must admit I was annoyed that post-secondary education does not quaify you (6th form colleges count, but not university, if I recall correcly).

So if you are on the dole for 4 years you get credit towards a pension but if you are sweating bullets for 4 years getting a degree, you don't! Makes no sense at all.

scot47

In my day (1964-1968) students were advised that they could opt to make contributions for the period when they were studying.

Tempora mutantur.

dunroving

Good point, I hadn't considered that situation. Is there a Social Security calculator on the US government site that allows you to muck about with the options? A lot of such Web sites now offer this facilitity (whereas in the old days you'd have to write a letter for an illustrative rundown). My employer pension has a calculator that allows you to simulate things like "retire" early on a particular percentage of your pension, and continue to work part-time (still contributing), and/or to convert part of your lump sum into a pension. It is really eye-opening.

I'm mulling over various early "retirement" or "semi-retirement" options (What is retirement, anyway? Used to be simple but these days people "retire" from one job and take another!), as I have US SS (only the minimum 40CR), UK state pension, a lump in a 401k, and my current defined benefits (called final salary here) pension scheme. None are eye-poppingly lucrative but it all adds up, I suppose.

Trying to figure out what it would mean to go part-time at say 62, and start receiving US SS, and/or convert my 401k to an annuity at that point makes my head burst!

When I've raised it on here before, the advice has always been "Oh, don't take US SS early" or "don't convert your 401k to an annuity early", on the basis that the amortisation figures mean you'll get less - but heck, people who bought an "early" annuity a couple of years ago would be better off than if they'd waited (because annuity rates have plummeted to almost half what they were just 2 or 3 years ago).