Money helpdesk: Will I get full pension after 38 years of work?

Published on Saturday 13 March 2010 14:19

I STARTED work on 7 July, 1969 and worked for 38 years and five months, full time, paying the full monthly national insurance contribution until 16 December, 2007, when I took early retirement.

As I do not receive my state pension until 6 July, 2017, and will have already paid over and above 30 years' national insurance contributions at that point, I assume I qualify for the full state pension.

Can you confirm this is the case?

AC

Tom Mcphail of Hargreaves Lansdown writes

Any woman (or man) who hits state retirement age after 5 April, 2010, will only have to have completed 30 years to qualify for a full state pension.

Any woman born before 6 April, 1950, will retire at 60 but pension will be paid on the old calculation basis.

Any woman born after that date will only have to have completed 30 years but will retire later than age 60. Any woman born after 5 April, 1955, will retire at age 65. The phasing of the ages will take ten years to complete – between 2010 and 2020.

There is useful information at www.pensionsadvisoryservice.org.uk and on www.direct.gov.uk.