Contracted out of the State Pension

1. What is contracting out

If you were contracted out of the Additional State Pension (also known as State Second Pension or ‘SERPs’) your National Insurance contributions were either:

• lower than people paying into the Additional State Pension
• paid into another pension, for example a private pension

Check if you’ve been contracted out.

What this means for your pension

Your State Pension might be lower if you’ve ever been contracted out from the Additional State Pension.

How this affects you depends on whether you reach State Pension age:

• before 6 April 2016
• on or after 6 April 2016

Changes to contracting out from 6 April 2016

On 6 April 2016 the contracting out rules changed. If you were contracted out, you’ll:

• no longer be contracted out
• pay more National Insurance (the standard amount of National Insurance)

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