UK pensions

[oakleaflad]

Does anyone here have a Government occupational pension that's affected by the McCloud Judgement?

No, but previously worked in pensions for the health service so have a decent understanding of it if you've any questions.

I haven't got my McCloud assessment yet. Semi retired 4 years ago, fully retired a year ago. A friend who semi retired last year showed me his figures, commute £6k per year, pay back £10k to receive £91k plus £130k interest.

When semi-retired are they still paying pensionable contributions? Is semi-retirement as part of Partial Retirement or did they go Part-Time hours wise? I'm asking as you don't have to pay back anything as part of the McCloud Judgement.


Essentially if you joined the pension scheme before 1st April 2012 and had any active service between 01/04/2015 and 31/03/2022 you will be impacted.

Your choice will be whether to move those 7 years service (or the part of those 7 years that's applicable) from the newer Career Average scheme (CARE in Health Service, Alpha/Partnership in Civil Service etc.) to your Legacy scheme. This will reduce what you receive in your newer scheme and increase what you get in your legacy scheme. You do not have to pay anything to do this, just decide if it's financially more beneficial for you.

Legacy schemes often had automatic lump sums whereas career average schemes don't (although options may be in place to convert some of your pension to a lump sum in both legacy and newer schemes). Lump sums tended to be tax-free whereas your monthly payments are usually subject to tax.

Note any pensionable service after 31/03/2022 will be in the newer scheme regardless of your choice.

[Dougal Maguire]

Does anyone here have a Government occupational pension that's affected by the McCloud Judgement?

No, but previously worked in pensions for the health service so have a decent understanding of it if you've any questions.

I haven't got my McCloud assessment yet. Semi retired 4 years ago, fully retired a year ago. A friend who semi retired last year showed me his figures, commute £6k per year, pay back £10k to receive £91k plus £130k interest.

When semi-retired are they still paying pensionable contributions? Is semi-retirement as part of Partial Retirement or did they go Part-Time hours wise? I'm asking as you don't have to pay back anything as part of the McCloud Judgement.


Essentially if you joined the pension scheme before 1st April 2012 and had any active service between 01/04/2015 and 31/03/2022 you will be impacted.

Your choice will be whether to move those 7 years service (or the part of those 7 years that's applicable) from the newer Career Average scheme (CARE in Health Service, Alpha/Partnership in Civil Service etc.) to your Legacy scheme. This will reduce what you receive in your newer scheme and increase what you get in your legacy scheme. You do not have to pay anything to do this, just decide if it's financially more beneficial for you.

Legacy schemes often had automatic lump sums whereas career average schemes don't (although options may be in place to convert some of your pension to a lump sum in both legacy and newer schemes). Lump sums tended to be tax-free whereas your monthly payments are usually subject to tax.

Note any pensionable service after 31/03/2022 will be in the newer scheme regardless of your choice.

Not sure of his position but when I partially retired in 2020 I continued to pay pension contributions until I fully retired in 2024.

[dec]

Another item I found on the gov.uk site

https://www.tax.service.gov.uk/check-your-state-pension/modelling/contact-future-pension-centre

How to contact the Future Pension Centre
Request a call back
You can pay National Insurance gaps from April 2006 to April 2018 when you request a call back, even if we call after the deadline.
The deadline to pay April 2006 to April 2018 National Insurance gaps is 5 April 2025.
Request a call back by 5 April 2025, and you'll be able to pay for gaps, even if we call you back after the deadline.

[dec]

I managed to get my payments in before the deadline to get credits going back to 2006. When I checked online the records did not show me with the credits. I called, they had received the money, but because of the flood of payments the estimate is currently 60 (sixty) weeks before the money will be assigned to the correct years.

[gallsman]

Anyone paying from outside the UK get confirmation of whether they can pay Cat 2 or Cat 3 contributions?

[dec]

Anyone paying from outside the UK get confirmation of whether they can pay Cat 2 or Cat 3 contributions?

I am based in the US. I was able to pay class 2 for any weeks when I worked and was paying US social security taxes. For weeks where I was between jobs I had to pay class 3

[AustinPowers]

I managed to get my payments in before the deadline to get credits going back to 2006. When I checked online the records did not show me with the credits. I called, they had received the money, but because of the flood of payments the estimate is currently 60 (sixty) weeks before the money will be assigned to the correct years.

I paid a gap  from  2007 online, and that year is  now full. Think  that was class 2

Another year I had to pay class 3 (can't remember  why, but that's what they told me when  I phoned). Paid it online too , it's gone out of my bank  but that year hasn't been  updated yet. I'm assuming it might take a few weeks, so I'll check on  it down the line

So your situation sounds  similar to mine there

Edit: 60 weeks??? What the....?

[gallsman]

Anyone get their call back? I just checked online and it suggests I should be getting a call this week.

[marty34]

Anyone get their call back? I just checked online and it suggests I should be getting a call this week.

Is there a deadline to get a call?

[Mad Mentor]

I got a call back. They just confirmed my NI number, dob and said they would be back in touch. That was  about six or seven weeks ago. Have your NI number handy.

[gallsman]

Anyone get their call back? I just checked online and it suggests I should be getting a call this week.

Is there a deadline to get a call?

There was a deadline to apply. As long as you got application in you're guaranteed a call back.

I got a call back. They just confirmed my NI number, dob and said they would be back in touch. That was  about six or seven weeks ago. Have your NI number handy.

Have known it off by heart since I was 16!

[gallsman]

Have just received a letter from HMRC. Getting to pay Class 3 contributions mostly but bizarrely from 2017 thru 2019 there are some weeks at Class 2 rate.

Also the letter is dated June 3rd and they've said there's only 31 days to pay...

[armaghniac]

Have just received a letter from HMRC. Getting to pay Class 3 contributions mostly but bizarrely from 2017 thru 2019 there are some weeks at Class 2 rate.

Also the letter is dated June 3rd and they've said there's only 31 days to pay...

Post them a cheque dated 3rd July.

[gallsman]

They also seem to want to charge me Class 2 contributions for years in which I was a full time student, whereas I'm pretty sure I should be exempt for those as was studying in the south?

Post them a cheque dated 3rd July.

Lol. Catch yourself on, grandad.

[armaghniac]

They also seem to want to charge me Class 2 contributions for years in which I was a full time student, whereas I'm pretty sure I should be exempt for those as was studying in the south?

Post them a cheque dated 3rd July.

Lol. Catch yourself on, grandad.

Well of course pensions are of more interest to those of us in the older generation! Actually, I did post a cheque to them, one of two cheques that I wrote in the year. That was I could attach a letter stating the years it related to and I could see when they cashed the cheque.