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State Pension Query

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malagabob | 09:52 Sat 19th Jun 2021 | Business & Finance
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Ho much pension would a woman get on retirement if she’d never worked. Thanks for info.
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On the face of it, zero. But as ever the devil is in the detail. Is there a reason (such as disability) sges never worked? Has she got any credits for child rearing?
I think it all depends on whether or not she paid national insurance if she had employment after leaving school. I had my first child at 25 so therefore paid stamp (as it was then called) for approx 10 years. I then didn't work for 15 years before I did some part time work, but the earlier NI payments were taken into account so I received three quarters of the state pension when I retired.
Best to go on to UK site and get a forcast
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Thanks. On further searching one site says £137 pw. I wanted some kind of confirmation.
ok, but on the face of it that's not correct. what site?
https://www.gov.uk/check-state-pension

The link should take her to the website for checking her forecast pension. I believe that if your pension is low you can get pension credits to top it up.
Pedantic note: I can't see how a woman can 'retire' if she'd never worked. I assume that by 'on retirement', you mean 'on reaching State Pension age'.

If the woman in your question isn't living with a partner (so that matters aren't confused by her partner's income) and has no other source of income (such as from shares), the amount of her State Pension becomes irrelevant. That's because anyone of State Pension age (who is single), with a total income of less than £177.10 per week can get Pension Credit, which will top the figure up to that amount anyway.

So it's important to know whether or not the woman has a partner.
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The husband of the woman died around 1954/5. A work friend of the grandfather, who was also living in the house was looking for a room to rent. He lived there and became the woman’s unmarried partner for years. Dying in roughly 2004.
Is there any reason she didn't work? Did she get any credits for child rearing? If not I can't see how she would get entitled to a state pension
If the lady was already married in 1954 then she must be in her eighties at least. How has she been supporting herself?

There's simply insufficient information here to give a relevant reply. On the face of it if she really has no entitlement under the old state pension rules [which are what would apply to someone of her age] then she may be entitled to means-tested pension credit, as indicated by buenchico.
As the lady has no current partner, Pension Credit almost certainly comes into play, irrespective of what her actual State Pension entitlement is.

Assuming that she's got no other income (e.g. from shares etc, as it's her total income that's relevant for State Pension purposes), it doesn't matter whether she gets £50 per week, £100 per week or £150 per week as her State Pension because, whatever that amount, Pension Credit will top it up to a total of £177.10 per week.

However she won't get Pension Credit unless she actually APPLIES for it. (It can't be automatic because the people who pay her State Pension have no knowledge of whether or not she has any additional income from shares, etc.). So, if the lady isn't already in receipt of Pension Credit, she needs to apply a.s.a.p!
https://www.gov.uk/pension-credit

Anyone in receipt of Pension Credit is entitled to a reduction in their Council Tax. (In many cases that can be a 100% reduction, totally wiping out her Council Tax bill). It also comes with additional benefits, such as a free TV licence for anyone aged 75 or over and help with heating costs.
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Thanks Sorry for late reply.
The woman in question is 99. She’s been living with a daughter and husband for 17 years. Her own house has been unlived in for the 17 after her live in partner died. They never married
The daughter has not long died. The husband can’t look after her, so she is being put in a home.
The care home says there is a shortfall in the cost of her stay. Which has to be met by her 3 surviving daughters. Hence my query how much pension she could have got.
Her own home empty for 17 years must have had costs. Council tax water rates etc. So she must have had some income. There are other relevant issues which I won’t go into now.

Chris - Pension Credit is not always applicable!

My wife has 10 years of National Insurance credits. However because we reside abroad her pension which is 50+ pounds per week will not be topped up!

In addition the pension will stay at a flat rate and will not go up with inflation. Should I predecease my wife, it could well be that she is forced to return to the UK, simply for economic reasons.
The lady would have been receiving whatever the levels of Pension Credit Guarantee was in previous years (assuming that she applied for it).

Nobody can ever be forced to pay towards the care costs of a relative. The money that could be obtained from selling the lady's unoccupied property can be though, until such time as the lady's assets have dropped to a total of £14,250. At that time, she'll have to pay towards her care from her State Pension (and Pension Credit) but she must be left with at least £24.90 per week to use for her personal expenses. Any shortfall is then met by the local authority.

The foregoing assumes that the council have carried out a care needs assessment and that she's living in a care home that falls within their budget. (The local authority must ensure that the amount allocated for her care is enough for at least one care home in their area).

https://www.ageuk.org.uk/information-advice/care/paying-for-care/paying-for-a-care-home/
JJ109:
I accept that things are different for people who live abroad. Sometimes it's necessary for me (and for anyone else offering answers) to make certain assumptions about a question (such as the questioner being in the UK) in order to avoid unnecessarily complicated answers.
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The unoccupied house was auctioned in Oct 2019 and sold for 45,000. It was a terraced house in Wales. Un modernised. Being in Wales I think if here assets are less than 50,000 ( the sale of house) this cannot be taken into account
Am wondering whether it really matters what pension she gets now at 99. If she manages to get a bit more it'll benefit her beneficiaries more than her or will simply go to the care home. No harm in applying for pension credit for their peace of mind
>>> I think if here assets are less than 50,000 ( the sale of house) this cannot be taken into account

Nope! Sorry!

All a person's assets are taken into account, with the money being used to pay for a person's care until their total assets have fallen to £23,250. At that point local authority funding starts to kick in but a proportion of the care costs still has to come from the person's capital. It's only when that capital falls to £14,250 that the local authority has to pay for everything. (That assumes that the person is in a care home within the local authority's budgetary constraints; they must ensure that at least one such care home is available to the person requiring care. Fairly obviously, someone can't just choose to reside in a care home that caters for multi-billionaires and expect the local authority to pick up the bill).

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