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Pre-6 April 2016

National Insurance contributions and your State Pension until 2015/16

Last autumn, I published a number of blog entries to help explain how the old system worked. Through this entry, which focusses on the period up to 5 April 2016, I want to show how people may have paid different amounts of NI over their working life through to the end of the tax year 2015/16, and how this has contributed to the State Pension they are or will become entitled to.

Understanding the State Pension part four a: How contracting-out can affect your total State Pension

Blog 4 showed how the past changes to the Additional State Pension mean that you could have built up several different parts of State Pension. Your Additional State Pension will depend on a large number of factors.

Understanding the State Pension part four: how the State Pension has changed over time

So far, I’ve just explained how your State Pension builds up at the moment, based on NI you are paying or credited with this year. But your eventual State Pension will depend on your past NI record, as well as what you are building right now.

Understanding the State Pension part three: am I ‘contracted out’ and what does it mean?

Being “contracted-out” generally means that you are paying lower National Insurance rates than the standard full rate for employees. You will be paying lower National Insurance as you are opted out of State Second Pension (S2P).

Understanding the State Pension part two: how the current State Pension system works

I want to try to help you understand how the State Pension works – both under today’s rules and in the future.

I will start by explaining the current State Pension.